Mind of the Raven

Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds

By: Bernd Heinrich

Narrated by: Norman Dietz

Bernd Heinrich involves us in his quest to get inside the mind of the raven. But as animals can be spied on only by getting quite close, Heinrich adopts ravens, thereby becoming a "raven father", as well as observing them in their natural habitat. He studies their daily routines and, in the process, paints a vivid picture of the ravens' world.

At the heart of this book are Heinrich's love and respect for these complex and engaging creatures, and through his keen observation and analysis we become their intimates, too. Heinrich's passion for ravens has led him around the world in his research. Mind of the Raven follows an exotic journey - from New England to Germany, and from Montana to Baffin Island in the High Arctic - offering dazzling accounts of how science works in the field, filtered through the eyes of a passionate observer of nature. Each new discovery and insight into raven behavior is thrilling, at once lyrical and scientific.

©1999 Bernd Heinrich (P)2016 Tantor

It's actually about ravens!

So many books like this wind up being a travel blog about the author's journey more than the supposed subject matter. Not this book. It's about ravens, ravens, and only ravens from beginning to end.

How do biologists understand other animals?

What made the experience of listening to Mind of the Raven the most enjoyable?

To learn the extent of Ravens ability to reason and solve problems was amazing. The wild experiments that the author performed with Ravens as subjects was amazing. I do have to ask, would we tolerate such experiments performed on people. I do not know. On the other hand, how can you get informed consent from a Raven?

What was one of the most memorable moments of Mind of the Raven?

Testing whether Ravens can figure out how to get food that is hanging from a string really showed (to me) that Ravens have intelligence, a capacity for acting that is not instinctual. This means that we are undervaluing our fellow inhabitants of our planet.

Narrator killed what potential it had

Old voice dull and conspiciously short of breath killed what otherwise might have been an enjoyable listen. Recommend reading the book instead. There are insights and enjoyable moments in ravens throughout and definitely something there for those of us interested and curious about the topic.

Narrator so old fashioned

The narrator sounded as if he were voicing a 1950s newsreel. Very dated, very stilted.

slow start but picked up

was a bit slow to get into. once I increased the speed to 1.5 it was a bit easier. The full richness of the story and insight into ravens picked up after the beginning and kept me engaged.