Donald Griffin is 'Mr. Animal Consciousness'. To be perfectly honest, I would not say that he is among the top rank of scientists (even though he was one of the discoverers of the remarkable ability of bats to navigate by echolocation). However, this book deals with a subject close to my own heart, and I think one of great significance; if animals are found to be conscious (insofar as it is possible to detect consciousness), there are important implications for how we humans interact with them.

Although some of Griffin's speculations - for example over whether insects might be conscious - are quite dubious, he presents a rich vein of research and anecdotes for the reader to mine. As science, this book is not as rigorous as it might be; but it contains much highly suggestive information, and is a fascinating read from an ethological point of view.

Click here to buy it ($15.95).