Beasts

What Animals Can Teach Us About the Origins of Good Evil

By: Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Best-selling author Jeffrey Masson shows us what the animals at the top of the food chain - orca whales, big cats, etc. - can teach us about the origins of good and evil in ourselves.

There are two supreme predators on the planet with the most complex brains in nature: humans and orcas. In the 20th century alone, one of these animals killed 200 million members of its own species, the other killed none. Jeffrey Masson’s fascinating new book begins here: There is something different about us. In his previous best sellers, Masson has shown what animals can teach us about our own emotions - about love (dogs), contentment (cats), grief (elephants), among others. But animals have much to teach us about the negative emotions such as anger and aggression as well, and in unexpected ways. In Beasts he demonstrates that the violence we perceive in the "wild" is mostly a matter of projection. We link the basest human behavior to animals, to "beasts" ("he behaved no better than a beast"), and claim the high ground for our species. We are least human, we think, when we succumb to our primitive, animal ancestry. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Animals, at least predators, kill to survive, indeed, but there is nothing in the annals of animal aggression remotely equivalent to the violence of humankind. Our burden is that humans, and in particular humans in our modern industrialized world, are the most violent animals to our own kind in existence, or possibly ever in existence on Earth. We lack what all other animals have: a check on the aggression that would destroy the species rather than serve it. It is here, Masson says, that animals have something to teach us about our own history.

In Beasts, he brings to life the richness of the animal world and strips away our misconceptions of the creatures we fear, offering a powerful and compelling look at our uniquely human propensity toward aggression.

©2014 Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"If the argument of this audiobook sounds gloomy, even misanthropic, the warmth of Edoardo Ballerini's narration quickly dispels that impression." (AudioFile)

Ideas to make you think

Where does Beasts rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among the best. More for the material than the fact it was an audiobook, but the material calls into question what society has accepted as normal.

Have you listened to any of Edoardo Ballerini’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't.

simple, but powerful

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson lays it all out in an elegant fashion. While I'm not sure I agree with his point of view about the impact of domestication and agriculture on our proclivity for evil, he backs up most of his ideas with strong thinking and solid research.

Changed my life...

What did you love best about Beasts?

Constantly interesting. Makes me examine my habbits and morals.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not applicable

Which character – as performed by Edoardo Ballerini – was your favorite?

N/a

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Cried

Any additional comments?

I want so much to discuss this book.

Fantastic!!!!!

I have never been so touched and enlightened. There is so much truth delivered here. I would highly recommend this book.

This one is a MUST!!! Thought provoking....

Fascinating culmination of comparative human/animal data. A MUST listen for all interested in altruism and a multi-species comparative beginning with a true and riveting story of a crocodile attack leading us to question humans as prey.
I have listened to this audio twice and strongly recommend it for all above age 12.
Parents this is a fantastic, thought provoking and educational listen for the whole family!!