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318 reviews for:
Die erstaunliche Wahrheit über Tiere: Was Mythen und Irrtümer über uns verraten
Lucy Cooke
4.23 AVERAGE
318 reviews for:
Die erstaunliche Wahrheit über Tiere: Was Mythen und Irrtümer über uns verraten
Lucy Cooke
4.23 AVERAGE
funny
informative
lighthearted
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This book did not give me what I expected and the reason is because I think this book was aimed at people who are looking for an unusual insight to the animal kingdom, which I already have since I'm on my second degree in an animal science-based degree. Nevertheless, there were some really good facts in here - I won't say what because, spoilers!
The animals covered included some of my favourites; freshwater eels, pandas and frogs. The writing seemed largely anecdotal and some parts read like they were setting the scene for a fictional story - something I wouldn't want in a non-fiction book. The main issue for me was the disparaging remarks about significant figures like Charles Darwin and Carl Linnaeus, implying that their work contained too many errors; if like Carl Linnaeus you devise an entire classification system for cataloguing the entire world's living creatures, there's bound to be the odd error here and there - hell, scientists continue to rearrange and reclassify species following major research but that doesn't make the work by Linnaeus wrong!
There were some references to additional reading that I definitely intend to have a look into, because that is one of the things I love about non-fiction books on animals - the reference list! For those looking for a fun 'Did You Know' read about animals, with a fair amount of history thrown in, this is excellent. For me, this felt like an opportunity to showcase the animals the author has an affinity for in a very positive light but the chapters covering some other species were littered with derogatory remarks regarding the species' worth.
This was the best quote in this book: "science is not going to save biodiversity; a shift in human behaviour is the only thing that is going to save it" - unfortunately, this hits the nail on the head.
The animals covered included some of my favourites; freshwater eels, pandas and frogs. The writing seemed largely anecdotal and some parts read like they were setting the scene for a fictional story - something I wouldn't want in a non-fiction book. The main issue for me was the disparaging remarks about significant figures like Charles Darwin and Carl Linnaeus, implying that their work contained too many errors; if like Carl Linnaeus you devise an entire classification system for cataloguing the entire world's living creatures, there's bound to be the odd error here and there - hell, scientists continue to rearrange and reclassify species following major research but that doesn't make the work by Linnaeus wrong!
There were some references to additional reading that I definitely intend to have a look into, because that is one of the things I love about non-fiction books on animals - the reference list! For those looking for a fun 'Did You Know' read about animals, with a fair amount of history thrown in, this is excellent. For me, this felt like an opportunity to showcase the animals the author has an affinity for in a very positive light but the chapters covering some other species were littered with derogatory remarks regarding the species' worth.
This was the best quote in this book: "science is not going to save biodiversity; a shift in human behaviour is the only thing that is going to save it" - unfortunately, this hits the nail on the head.
informative
medium-paced
funny
informative
medium-paced
So much fun! I have recently been listening to a new podcast about branches of science (Ologies) and this book was the perfect companion to it (especially since it's read by the author). Heavy on the history of how much we get WRONG about animals with a healthy reminder that there is still so much we don't know.
funny
informative
medium-paced
Fun book full of tidbits I'd have never known if not for reading!
What a delightful read. The subtitle gives it away that it is not an academic book, but a tongue in cheek informative book. I've learned a lot about the different animals which are covered in the chapters, each of these is dedicated to a particular species; I think my favourites were the penguins and the frogs, but I loved every chapter.
It was interesting to know how wrong our ancestors were especially a certain Comte de Buffon (which I couldn't resist pronouncing "Bouffon" which means fool), but the author put it all in perspective making it quite understood that future generation might laugh at our conclusions too... especially concerning eels because we don't seem to know a lot about them still like where do they come from (geographically and maybe also anatomically). It is also evident that time is running out on a lot of the species we don't know a lot about and that is sad on so many levels.
For someone like me, who loves animals, but don't know that many facts about them... some ideas we have as a society in general got debunked like bats lap blood from open wounds (and I'm sure you know they do not turn into Romanian vampire) and do not suck it or inflict the wound (generally, I guess they are capable if enervated, but then they wouldn't stick around to lap while the victim was panicking); oh, and the majority of bats eat fruit, no blood at all in their diet.
I'm so full of facts now, but I do not want this to turn into "she said so much in her review there was nothing interesting anymore". Lets just do a recap : great facts, lots of humour, fascinating science (sometimes very gross), great aside from the author (her asides in parenthesis are just hilarious, mostly running commentaries) and you'll have a fun informative time reading this (well, I did)
I'll just underline something I haven't written a review in months and it took something really special to make me sit at my computer, which I normally have enough of at work, so this is a very special book and I seriously hope there's gonna be a second one with a new selection of animals in it.
It was interesting to know how wrong our ancestors were especially a certain Comte de Buffon (which I couldn't resist pronouncing "Bouffon" which means fool), but the author put it all in perspective making it quite understood that future generation might laugh at our conclusions too... especially concerning eels because we don't seem to know a lot about them still like where do they come from (geographically and maybe also anatomically). It is also evident that time is running out on a lot of the species we don't know a lot about and that is sad on so many levels.
For someone like me, who loves animals, but don't know that many facts about them... some ideas we have as a society in general got debunked like bats lap blood from open wounds (and I'm sure you know they do not turn into Romanian vampire) and do not suck it or inflict the wound (generally, I guess they are capable if enervated, but then they wouldn't stick around to lap while the victim was panicking); oh, and the majority of bats eat fruit, no blood at all in their diet.
I'm so full of facts now, but I do not want this to turn into "she said so much in her review there was nothing interesting anymore". Lets just do a recap : great facts, lots of humour, fascinating science (sometimes very gross), great aside from the author (her asides in parenthesis are just hilarious, mostly running commentaries) and you'll have a fun informative time reading this (well, I did)
I'll just underline something I haven't written a review in months and it took something really special to make me sit at my computer, which I normally have enough of at work, so this is a very special book and I seriously hope there's gonna be a second one with a new selection of animals in it.