An Immense World

 

An Immense World:  How Animal Sense Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong Zoology

(from Amazon)  The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every kind of animal, including humans, is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of our immense world.  In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us. We encounter beetles that are drawn to fires, turtles that can track the Earth’s magnetic fields, fish that fill rivers with electrical messages, and even humans who wield sonar like bats. We discover that a crocodile’s scaly face is as sensitive as a lover’s fingertips, that the eyes of a giant squid evolved to see sparkling whales, that plants thrum with the inaudible songs of courting bugs, and that even simple scallops have complex vision. We learn what bees see in flowers, what songbirds hear in their tunes, and what dogs smell on the street. We listen to stories of pivotal discoveries in the field, while looking ahead at the many mysteries that remain unsolved.

(My Review)  Did you know that a whale's siren can be heard from the Bahamas to Ireland?  Have you wondered about the communication of animals?  This book was amazing!  Ed Yong guides us on an adventure, learning about the amazing senses of animals.  He provides so much interesting information, but does not talk over your head.  I felt this book would make an amazing documentary series.  I highly recommend this book.