Talkin Pets

In the tradition of Temple Grandin, Oliver Sacks, and Neil Shubin,
cardiologist and psychiatrist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and science
writer Kathryn Bowers look at the remarkable similarities between
the way human beings and animals live, die, get sick, and heal in their
natural settings. Delving into an array of disciplines—evolution,
anthropology, sociology, biology, cutting-edge medicine, and zoology—
the authors provide a revelatory understanding of what animals can
teach us about the human body and mind.
“Zoobiquity” is a term that refers to a new, species-spanning approach to
health. After being called in to consult on a case of heart failure in a
monkey at the Los Angeles Zoo, Natterson-Horowitz found herself
launched on a journey of discovery that reshaped her entire approach to
medicine. In Zoobiquity, she uses fascinating case studies and scholarship
to explore the ways in which what we know about animal and human
commonality can be used to diagnose, treat, and ultimately heal human
patients.
DR. BARBARA NATTERSON-HOROWITZ earned her degrees at Harvard and UCSF.
She is a cardiology professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and
serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the L.A. Zoo as a cardiovascular consultant.
Her writing has appeared in many scientific and medical publications. KATHRYN
BOWERS was a staff editor at The Atlantic Monthly and writer and producer at CNN
International. She has edited and written popular and academic books and teaches a
course on medical narrative at UCLA.

“Profoundly illuminating . . . Zoobiquity is as clarion and perception-altering as works by Oliver Saks, Michael Pollan, and E. O. Wilson.” –Booklist, starred review


“After finishing, you’re guaranteed to never look at your dog, cat, or any other animal the same way again.” –Publishers Weekly


"If common ancestors with worms, fish, and apes lie in our past, then Zoobiquity points the way to our future. The connections we share with the rest of life on our planet are a source of beauty and, in Natterson-Horowitz and Bowers’ luminous new account,  the inspiration for an emerging and powerful approach to human health. Zoobiquity is a book that explodes barriers and myths all in the purpose of bettering the human condition."


—Neil Shubin, paleontologist and author of Your Inner Fish


"Centered on an insight rich with consequences, this beautifully written book is loaded with fascinating material that makes a compelling case for viewing human health and disease comparatively. We have more to learn from other species than I had ever suspected. Gripping and memorably engaging, it belongs in the hands of anyone with an ounce of curiosity about the biological sources of the human condition."


—Stephen Stearns, PhD., Edward P. Bass Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University


“A fascinating reading about the similarities in both physiology and behavior of people and animals.”
—Temple Grandin


“Zoobiquity is full of fascinating stories of intersection between human and nonhuman medicine — fish that faint; dinosaur cancers; human treatments that cure dogs of melanoma; lessons from adolescent elephant behavior that explain human teenagers. I was beguiled.”
—Atul Gawande, M.D.