Reviews

Pure delight. I listened to this at just the right time after feeling burnt out after two very long fiction books. It was refreshing to return to my favorite genre to listen to: non-fiction nature writing.

I love great nature writing because it can remind me of how expansive the world is beyond our small realm. As the only animals that are able to have an idea of how other animals perceive the world, Yong urges us to go outside our own sensory bubble. He asks us to journey through the sensory worlds of dogs, mantis shrimp, birds, whales, and many others as we discover and question how predator, prey, and colony have evolved their senses to successfully and (sometimes unsuccessfully) adapt to the current world.

Yong’s narration and written voice team with curiosity, and enthusiasm. His writing is remarkably fresh and incredibly approachable, never too bogged down by dense, scientific terms. I also appreciated that Yong makes known that the information laid out is not merely trivial, but by using the well-loved example of animals, we can all exercise a lesson in empathy.

I’ve thought about this book many times since listening to it and I would recommend this to anyone that is remotely curious and/or love animals.