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dreamybee 's review for:
Tons of interesting facts in here, but I did find it a bit frustrating at times. This is no weakness of the book itself but if its historical subjects; the author went back through the history of what we know about a lot of these creatures, back to the days when the “experts” were men of “science” who put broad and sometimes outright fantastical assumptions (guesses, outright lies?) about their subjects into publications, thereby cementing this disinformation for years, sometimes decades, with seemingly zero interest in the verification of facts or testing of theories. This kind of hubris is frustrating at any time, but I think I am a bit more sensitive to it right now than I might have been a few years ago. While some of the incorrect presumptions are understandable (hippos are gentle creatures who are good swimmers), some of them are just outright bizarre (beavers chew off their testicles and throw them at their pursuer in order to distract them (you know, like you would throw your wallet away from you to escape a mugger)).
Amongst all these widely-published, dithering blowhards, there were some men who were actually scientifically minded; although, it’s hard to imagine that they would have been as interested in the inner workings of, say, bat sonar if they had had to adhere to the stricter ethical norms that are in place today regarding animal experimentation. They seemed a little TOO interested in the inner workings of their subjects for my taste, but perhaps that’s just me being squeamish and unfairly judge-y of the attitudes of the time.
Anyway, those are the big cons for me for this book, but they really do pale in comparison to the other interesting facts in celebration of these animals’ unique characteristics and abilities. (You can get a good sample of the types of facts and the author’s tone in my MANY highlighted excerpts). Overall, the author’s appreciation of them shines through, and the book serves as a celebration of discovery and curiosity.
Amongst all these widely-published, dithering blowhards, there were some men who were actually scientifically minded; although, it’s hard to imagine that they would have been as interested in the inner workings of, say, bat sonar if they had had to adhere to the stricter ethical norms that are in place today regarding animal experimentation. They seemed a little TOO interested in the inner workings of their subjects for my taste, but perhaps that’s just me being squeamish and unfairly judge-y of the attitudes of the time.
Anyway, those are the big cons for me for this book, but they really do pale in comparison to the other interesting facts in celebration of these animals’ unique characteristics and abilities. (You can get a good sample of the types of facts and the author’s tone in my MANY highlighted excerpts). Overall, the author’s appreciation of them shines through, and the book serves as a celebration of discovery and curiosity.