What Would Animals Say If We Asked the Right Questions?

This book is extraordinary. Vinciane Despret is a philosopher who watches humans who watch animals. The book is split into 26 chapters, one for each letter of the alphabet. Each chapter has a theme, but they are all held together by an acute, brilliantly researched, and clear critique of research on animals by (western) humans. You are invited to read it in any order (I chose a favourite pangram to direct it).

The translation is beautifully written, as I would imagine is the original. Despret values anecdotal evidence, particularly from field researchers who are often dismissed by the more "serious" lab researchers. She uses wry humour to explore other ways we can think about the human/animal relationship, and repeats a thread of more-than-human philosophy and contemporary ethology via figures including Donna Haraway, Bruno Latour and Thelma Rowell.