Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior

Now with a Q&A and new foreword by the author

With unique personal insight, experience, and hard science, Animals in Translation is the definitive, groundbreaking work on animal behavior and psychology.

Temple Grandin’s professional training as an animal scientist and her history as a person with autism have given her a perspective like that of no other expert in the field of animal science. Grandin and coauthor Catherine Johnson present their powerful theory that autistic people can often think the way animals think—putting autistic people in the perfect position to translate “animal talk.” Exploring animal pain, fear, aggression, love, friendship, communication, learning, and even animal genius, Grandin is a faithful guide into their world.

Animals in Translation reveals that animals are much smarter than anyone ever imagined, and Grandin, standing at the intersection of autism and animals, offers unparalleled observations and extraordinary ideas about both.

Temple Grandin earned her PhD in animal science from the University of Illinois and is currently a professor at Colorado State University. She is one of the world’s most accomplished and well-known adults with autism and the author of numerous books, including the bestsellers Thinking in Pictures, Animals in Translation, and Visual Thinking. A past member of the board of directors of the Autism Society of America and a celebrated and effective animal advocate, Grandin spearheaded reform of the quality of life for the world's agricultural animals. She was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of the year and the HBO movie based on her life, starring Claire Danes, received seven Emmy Awards. 

Catherine Johnson, PhD, is a writer specializing in neuropsychiatry and the brain and is the author of three previous books, including Shadow Syndromes with John J. Ratey. She lives with her husband and three sons in New York. Two of her sons have autism.