Lads Before the Wind: Diary of a Dolphin Trainer

This book was on a recommendation list for a dolphin training internship I attended this past summer. I started reading it just for the internship but learned so much more than I ever anticipated. Currently I am studying in the field of psychology and this book helped me understand the real world applications of behavioral psychology in a way that was enjoyable to read. I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone who wants to understand dolphins, behavioral psychology, or training more.

I loved Karen Pryor's story and learned from her experiences in training which I hope to be able to apply in my own career someday!

A very neat and insightful book on animal training! I would highly suggest this book to anyone interested in animal training. It's written in the point of view of Karen Pryor and her own learning process of teaching the marine mammals of her park. It's not written as an instructional book. But pay attention and you will learn what mistakes to watch for and some neat ideas and theories about clicker training. Very inspiring!

A classic must for the library of any profession working with people and animals. A historical landmark story that carries many meta level and mega level messages that scintillate one's mind. A real pleasure and touching story of a remarkable endeavor to create an open ocean Marine World testing the ideology of free animals without cages and training them to stick around to entertain people and families. educational consultant

I have read this book before and absolutely loved it. Which is why I decided to get my own copy. I ordered it used, I didn’t feel I needed a brand new one. Well. It’s fairly beat up on the outside, which, fair enough, I did buy it used. However, the inside looks like someone photocopied all the pages and then glued them together. With a printer with fading ink... it looks awful, different shades of ink, residue on the page itself. I will return this. Very disappointed, such a great book but such a crappy copy

good.

I have owned this book for many many years. It is one of the most important books in my collection if not the most important one that I own. It is one of two books where I have had a chance to meet Georges Gilbert, the father who I never knew. There is another book about BF Skinner and a little about his work at Sea Life Park. My father is mentioned there, too. I have only seen my father once. When I was in the fourth grade, we were on an excursion to Sea Life Park and were watching the dolphin program in the tanks. My father happened to be on hand during the show, and the trainer introduced him as the collector. It was embarrassing for me becaue I told one of the kids next to me that Georges is my father. The boy laughed and said why doesn't your father come see you. I told him I was just joking.I have spent a portion of my life trying to retrace my dad's steps to learn who he was. I have even gone sport fishing on the Imua long after my father had passed away, and the Imua was refitted for sport fishing. I have met many skippers and captains on many boats in Hawaii who seemed to have known my father and had told tall stories of my father and the sea. My foster father who was also a bottom fisherman called my father the great fisherman. I guess Georges Gilbert had an uncanny feel for the ocean and the animals that the ocean possessed.Thank you Karen for writing this bookRobert Kahaokamoku Gilbert

An absolute necessity for those interested in training animals of any sort. This book reads like a novel, effortlessly communicating outstanding and invaluable information. A beautiful book that should be course reading in every animal behavior class.