Customer Reviews

The Wisdom of Dolphins

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A "must read" for those interested in both a basic knowledge of dolphins and in the more esoteric areas. Many areas of the book indicate the difficulty in finding words to describe experiences with dolphins, yet page after page of text conveys the feelings and wonderment which come from encountering dolphins. For those who have yet to have a personal experience with dolphins, the book provides a deeper understanding of their world and what it's like to be in their presence. For those of us privileged to have been in their presence and perhaps even interacted with them, the personal accounts and stories will bring us right back to those times. After reading the book, I felt again "filled up" with the contentment that comes with knowing the dolphins.

Reading this book, I am envious of those trainers who make a living communicating with these precious gifts from the sea. I am amazed as I read about the intelligence level and instinct for love possessed by dolphins! Dolphins make astonishing therapists -- helping the mentally retarded as well as the seekers of life. Several individuals even change their careers and lifestyles after working with these "animals." I am confounded. I cannot thank you enough, Amazon.com, for allowing readers to review wonderful and life-changing books. To others, read this book. You will not regret it!

I picked this book up, I'm pretty sure, at a zoo gift shop several years ago, after visiting a marine mammal tank. I read it shortly after, and I am sure I enjoyed it but it didn't make much dent and it sat on my shelf awhile.

Then a few years ago I worked with at risk teens in a wilderness expedition intervention. When we got them they were usually kicking and screaming: addicted, promiscuous, hurting, depressed, personality disorders, eating and body image problems, wealthy and entitled, and bored. But we loved them anyway, and when they left I like to think they had a couple more coping skills than they had before. One thing I really enjoyed about this job was nurturing the young kids inside these teens. They really needed this, despite being very hard and grownup on the outside, and it helped them let their guard down! So as part of that, I really enjoyed reading bedtime stories with them, and they responded very well to it. I was permitted to read things that were "therapeutic" in nature, helped if there was an outdoor theme to tie in to their experience. So I pulled down "The Wisdom of Dolphins" and brought it to my girls and they quite simply ate it up.

Each chapter is only a few pages, and each focuses on a specific behavior or topic related to dolphin life and how dolphins handle their challenges in life, and how they get along in social situations. Some comparison and contrast between dolphins in captivity and wild. It is observations by a researcher who got to know the animals and had formed bonds with them. I was able to use this book to get my girls thinking about their self-image, their relationships to peers and family, and their problem-solving skills. Plus it was just short enough to hold these tired kids' attention before they drifted off to sleep, and would likely match younger kids' attention spans.

There is some stuff in the book about mating, death and dying, etc, for parents' discretion and support if this is for a younger child to read. It is brief, and tasteful, but matter of fact. You can edit or translate these parts however you see fit, I'm sure!

Anyway, this is an excellent bedtime book in my opinion, for those bigger kids, and an excellent parent-child book.