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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
9/10; informative yet absolutely hilarious; an engaging read but also thought provoking about the history of science and how we view animals
I love nature writing. I am a big fan of David Attenborough. I love it even more when it's funny nature writing. I'd never heard of Lucy Cooke, but I am definitely a fan now. This book was informative, hilarious and full of so much crazy stuff! Thanks for the chance to read it. I would recommend this one for sure!
"I joined Claudio on an expedition in search of one of the country’s most fabulous freaks, the incredibly rare Southern Darwin’s frog, which was discovered by the big beard himself in 1834 on his epic five year Beagle voyage. What makes this frog so extraordinary is that it has eschewed conventional pond-based metamorphosis for something more sci-fi: after mating the male guards the fertilized eggs until they are close to hatching, then gobbles them up. Six weeks later, like a scene out of Alien, he barfs up baby frogs. He is the only male animal other than the seahorse to give birth, albeit through his mouth."
"I joined Claudio on an expedition in search of one of the country’s most fabulous freaks, the incredibly rare Southern Darwin’s frog, which was discovered by the big beard himself in 1834 on his epic five year Beagle voyage. What makes this frog so extraordinary is that it has eschewed conventional pond-based metamorphosis for something more sci-fi: after mating the male guards the fertilized eggs until they are close to hatching, then gobbles them up. Six weeks later, like a scene out of Alien, he barfs up baby frogs. He is the only male animal other than the seahorse to give birth, albeit through his mouth."
What a fun read! I've kept this one in my work bag for the past couple months and cracked it open when I felt like learning something new - and boy did I learn some things. From penguins prostituting themselves to bats giving fellatio, this read was DEFINITELY full of some unexpected tidbits. It was a bit hard to digest at some points as I am not exactly well-versed in biology/zoology/etc, but definitely worth the read. Lucy Cooke has made me a better environmentalist and animal lover!
funny
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
An easy, fun and funny read deservedly exploding persistent animal myths and calling for a scientific approach that respects animals, doesn’t centre humans but also doesn’t deny creative leaps of fancy.
funny
informative
medium-paced
funny
informative
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Meh. There are parts of this that are good, but overall it’s just meh. The book is divided into 13 chapters, with each chapter covering a specific animal. Within the chapter, Cooke shares a variety of historical anecdotes- where it got its name, what the ancient Greeks thought of the animal, or how it is revered in certain areas of the world. The anecdotes are interesting and engaging- but you are left wondering why you are reading this? It’s kind of like your weird uncle at family reunions who tells random stories and dozed off? There is no connection or through line to hold the stories together.
The other slightly annoying aspect is Cooke’s use of completely random high level vocabulary words? The book itself (with regard to content) seems fairly appropriate to a child/ you g adult audience- and the vast majority of the language supports that- but at random moments she drops in a $10 word for no apparent reason. It’s like when my students use the thesaurus to make themselves sound smarter— only Cooke uses the words appropriately. It’s not inaccurate- just causes the reading to feel forcibly inflated.
If you are looking for a book to read in short chunks, or are interested in learning random trivia about a variety of animals, this is a good resource.
Animals covered: Eel, Beaver, Sloth, Hyena, Vulture, Bat, Frog, Stork, Hippo, Moose, Panda, Penguin and Chimpanzee.
The other slightly annoying aspect is Cooke’s use of completely random high level vocabulary words? The book itself (with regard to content) seems fairly appropriate to a child/ you g adult audience- and the vast majority of the language supports that- but at random moments she drops in a $10 word for no apparent reason. It’s like when my students use the thesaurus to make themselves sound smarter— only Cooke uses the words appropriately. It’s not inaccurate- just causes the reading to feel forcibly inflated.
If you are looking for a book to read in short chunks, or are interested in learning random trivia about a variety of animals, this is a good resource.
Animals covered: Eel, Beaver, Sloth, Hyena, Vulture, Bat, Frog, Stork, Hippo, Moose, Panda, Penguin and Chimpanzee.
DNF.
Sorry to say that I don't like Cooke's style of writing - I can understand the need for humour in order to expand readership of the book, but there is too much of it, making the topic matter less scientific and educational than I was expecting. For some reason animal reproductive biology is great fun for the author, though it gets old quite quickly. The book is also overly anecdotal at times, which isn't very interesting.
If you want to read about the history of the evolution of human understanding about select animal species, with extra humour in the mix, then this may be the book for you.
Sorry to say that I don't like Cooke's style of writing - I can understand the need for humour in order to expand readership of the book, but there is too much of it, making the topic matter less scientific and educational than I was expecting. For some reason animal reproductive biology is great fun for the author, though it gets old quite quickly. The book is also overly anecdotal at times, which isn't very interesting.
If you want to read about the history of the evolution of human understanding about select animal species, with extra humour in the mix, then this may be the book for you.