An Immense World, Ed Yong
I remember really liking Yong’s previous book about microbes, and this didn’t disappoint — despite being a whole new topic! The best pop-science, for me, is the stuff that makes me constantly want to tell someone about the neat things I’m learning. That was definitely the case here: I was texting my mum from the discharge ward after a minor surgery to tell her about the eyes of scallops!
Yong writes clearly and with lots and lots of examples. Now and then I didn’t care much for the metaphors, as in the introduction — just get down to the actual science, pleeeease. I also got a bit overloaded by all the footnotes. But for the most part, it was really readable and fascinating. There are a lot of references and so on in the back, and Yong is careful not to claim too much for any fascinating theories, making it clear when things are fully understood and when they aren’t. (At least, to the best of our knowledge.)
Animal senses really aren’t my main interest, but Yong writes engagingly enough — and the topic is fascinating enough — that it really doesn’t matter.
Definitely recommended, if your interest is piqued.
