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317 reviews for:
Die erstaunliche Wahrheit über Tiere: Was Mythen und Irrtümer über uns verraten
Lucy Cooke
4.23 AVERAGE
317 reviews for:
Die erstaunliche Wahrheit über Tiere: Was Mythen und Irrtümer über uns verraten
Lucy Cooke
4.23 AVERAGE
I received Cooke's book as a gift from my mom, who clearly knows what I like. The reading journey across the world's most misunderstood animals was an informative ride. It is important to note that the load of exceptional information was delivered with such masterful humour, that I had to put down the book in hysterical fits of laughter, multiple times. Overall, the read opened my mind to important questions and encouraged me to learn more about the idiosyncrasies of animals (and humans), as it stimulated me to forsake for a moment my culturally rooted anthropocentric vision of the world. It is surprising how much a person can learn about the world once they free themselves from fossilized preconceptions.
This book was informative, enjoyable, and easy to get through. The book is basically a history of zoology and misconceptions about certain animals, some of which were pretty wild. Cooke cites a number of sources that sound absolutely fascinating, from medieval bestiaries to [b:Lucy: Growing Up Human: A Chimpanzee Daughter in a Psychotherapist's Family|1139945|Lucy Growing Up Human A Chimpanzee Daughter in a Psychotherapist's Family|Maurice K. Temerlin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1267646708s/1139945.jpg|1127230], the memoir of a psychotherapist who decided to raise a chimpanzee as his daughter, which apparently includes some raunchy scenes with a vacuum cleaner.
However, Cooke's sense of humor doesn't match up perfectly with mine, and I often found myself cringing at her jokes, which were largely unnecessary as the subject matter was already interesting, bizarre, and funny enough without them. She tries too hard to be cute, and on occasion misses the mark in problematic ways in her efforts to make a cheap joke. Her description of female hyenas as "the original chicks with dicks," which also uses the phrase "trans trickery," play into the misconception that trans people are trying to deceive others through their gender presentation (73). The phrasing is entirely inappropriate, using transphobic tropes to convey a misleading message about female hyenas, who are also not attempting to trick anyone, all for the sake of a rhyme and an alliterative phrase that Cooke evidently thought would be a cute way to spice up her writing. It's not cute.
Still, certainly an interesting book overall with plenty of positive features.
However, Cooke's sense of humor doesn't match up perfectly with mine, and I often found myself cringing at her jokes, which were largely unnecessary as the subject matter was already interesting, bizarre, and funny enough without them. She tries too hard to be cute, and on occasion misses the mark in problematic ways in her efforts to make a cheap joke. Her description of female hyenas as "the original chicks with dicks," which also uses the phrase "trans trickery," play into the misconception that trans people are trying to deceive others through their gender presentation (73). The phrasing is entirely inappropriate, using transphobic tropes to convey a misleading message about female hyenas, who are also not attempting to trick anyone, all for the sake of a rhyme and an alliterative phrase that Cooke evidently thought would be a cute way to spice up her writing. It's not cute.
Still, certainly an interesting book overall with plenty of positive features.
funny
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia
funny
informative
fast-paced
In this fascinating and fun book, each chapter focuses on an animal we humans have had misconceptions about, especially those we have historically either looked upon in scorn or regarded with disgust. Author Lucy Cooke is naturally witty and inserts just the right amount of humor into the text. Not only will you receive the gift of visualizing frogs in underpants, there are oodles of charming facts and "wow!" moments. My favorite, heart-warming passage reveals that sloths don't sleep most of their day, but instead spend the majority of their time "quietly hanging in the trees in a seemingly meditative state, motionless, with their eyes open and staring blankly into space" (would that we all could do so).
informative
This book was perhaps the most delightful I’ve read this year! I learned so many cool things about animals, and loved the humour of the author as well. A fabulous listen! (Read for the Book Riot 2018 Read Harder Challenge - Read a book about nature)
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Such a perfectly paced mix between hilarious commentary and genuine insight. So interesting and entertaining, loved learning about the weird and wonderful parts of the world.
informative
medium-paced
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Hard to read all at once but very interesting
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
This is a book I definitely want to add to my personal library. I found myself laughing out loud at times, and was often shocked about these amazing facts about animals. Easy and enjoyable to read for animal lovers who have no background in biology.