Book review – Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life
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An epic history of taxonomy across three centuries, Every Living Thing charts the lives, works, and legacy of Linnaeus and Buffon.
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on Wed, 1AM
Book review – The Man Who Organized Nature: The Life of Linnaeus
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This scholarly biography provides a full immersion in the life of Linnaeus, revealing the polymath behind his reputation as the father of taxonomy.
on Dec 5
Book review – Lost Wonders: 10 Tales of Extinction from the 21st Century
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An emotional gut punch of a book, Lost Wonders momentarily resurrects ten recently extinct species and speaks to the people who tried to save them.
on Nov 17
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A palaeoclimatology chronicle with character, this book successfully continues Prothero’s approach of tackling earth science topics in 25 interesting chapters.
on Nov 8
Book review – A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of J. B. S. Haldane
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Effortlessly switching back and forth between JBS Haldane’s personal life and his academic achievements, A Dominant Character is an incredibly enjoyable biography that never seeks to downplay…
on Nov 5
Book review – Nature’s Ghosts: The World We Lost and How to Bring It Back
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Nature’s Ghosts combines journalistic flair and nature writing to examine the intriguing lessons the past holds for conservation today.
on Oct 25
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Celebrating the intellectual legacy of Stephen Jay Gould, Macroevolutionaries is an entertaining and intriguing collection of essays by two of his close friends and colleagues.
on Oct 4
Book review – Metamorphosis: How Insects Are Changing Our World
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Based on the BBC Radio 4 series, this delightful potpourri of insect stories is especially strong on the history of entomology.
on Sep 25
Book review – Living on Earth: Life, Consciousness and the Making of the Natural World
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Never less than thoughtful, Living on Earth is an ambitious exploration of the coevolution of life and its environment that wandered more widely than I expected.
on Sep 19
Book review – A History of Dinosaurs in 50 Fossils
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A History of Dinosaurs in 50 Fossils combines excellent photography with an up-to-date overview of dinosaur biology in easily digestible essays.
on Sep 19
Book review – Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future
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A mighty fine environmental reportage that provoked my thoughts, Eight Bears charts why and how bears face an uncertain future in a human-dominated world.
on Sep 9
Book review – Jay Matternes: Paleoartist and Wildlife Painter
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Eight years in the making, this fully authorised career retrospective of Jay Matternes is full of mesmerising palaeo- and wildlife art by an underrecognized master of the genre.
on Aug 23
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A very readable whistlestop tour of what deep-sea drilling has contributed to earth sciences, Mysteries of the Deep offers a microcosm of how science advances in fits and starts.
on Aug 16
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Focusing on the many animals it found in the deep sea, Full Fathom 5000 provides a novel perspective on the legendary Challenger expedition, all the while treating you to engaging vignettes on scie…
on Aug 6
Book review – The Sediments of Time: My Lifelong Search for the Past
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The grande dame of palaeoanthropology reflects on a fulfilling career in an inspiring autobiography full of scientific detail.
on Jul 28
Book review – The Trilobite Collector’s Guide
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A fossil-fueled medley of photographs and facts, The Trilobite Collector’s Guide leans heavily on top 10 listicles to tell you everything you didn’t know you didn’t know about tri…
on Jul 25
Book review – The Killer Whale Journals: Our Love and Fear of Orcas
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The Killer Whale Journals is a balanced and non-judgemental account of people’s differing attitudes towards orcas, that, refreshingly, takes in experiences from around the world.
on Jul 17
Book review – The Ecology of Collective Behavior
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The Ecology of Collective Behavior is an accessible perspective that highlights how collective behaviour interacts with, and is shaped by, the environment.
on Jul 10
Book review – Ant Encounters: Interaction Networks and Colony Behavior
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Offering an interesting critique of established ideas, this slim volume surveys numerous examples to argue that the behaviour of ant colonies arises from interactions between individuals.
on Jul 8
Book review – The Ant Collective: Inside the World of an Ant Colony
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The Ant Collective is chock-a-block with infographics and is a wonderful introduction to the inner workings of an ant colony that should have very wide public appeal.
on Jul 4
Book review – Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World
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Fun, fascinating, and always with one eye firmly on the facts, Eat, Poop, Die shows how animals shape ecosystems through their everyday activities.
on Jun 26
Book review – Why Sharks Matter: A Deep Dive with the World’s Most Misunderstood Predator
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Why Sharks Matter is an informed and informative book on shark conservation that tackles misconceptions and explains conflicts between biologists and activists.
on Jun 24
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A list of all book reviews under the subject heading of oceanography published to date in reverse chronological order.
on Jun 23
Book review – Biocivilisations: A New Look at the Science of Life
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Biocivilisations locates supposed human achievements amongst a wide range of organisms and is a book that is as fascinating as it is frustrating.
on May 31
Book review – Infinite Life: A Revolutionary Story of Eggs, Evolution and Life on Earth
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Focusing on the oology in zoology, Infinite Life makes for a fascinating retelling of life’s evolutionary history by adding eggs to the mix.
on May 22
Book review – Alfie & Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe
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Alfie & Me is more than a memoir about nursing back to health a wild animal. Come for the owls, stay for Safina’s philosophical reflections and piercing analysis of our environmental pred…
on May 16
Book review – The Ocean’s Whistleblower: The Remarkable Life and Work of Daniel Pauly
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An outstanding biography of Daniel Pauly, The Ocean’s Whistleblower impresses with its balanced coverage, thorough research, and excellent science communication.
on May 2
Book review – Imperfection: A Natural History
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Imperfection is a quick, slick, yet erudite read that posits six laws to explain how evolution by natural selection does not always result in the best of all possible worlds.
on Apr 26
Book review – Flaws of Nature: The Limits and Liabilities of Natural Selection
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Flaws of Nature is a witty and smart ride into evolution’s dark underbelly, focusing on its fascinating flaws and limitations.
on Apr 19
Book review – Ocean Life in the Time of Dinosaurs
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Richly illustrated, Ocean Life in the Time of Dinosaurs justifies its place alongside existing titles by offering an entry-level book to these extinct creatures.
on Apr 4
Book review – The Earth Transformed: An Untold History
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Fascinating environmental history on a big canvas, The Earth Transformed is admirably cautious in ascribing too much power to environmental explanations for historical events.
on Mar 28
Book review – The Progress Illusion: Reclaiming Our Future from the Fairytale of Economics
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Part history of neoliberal economics, part manifesto, The Progress Illusion is an urgent plea for an economy that does not devour the planet.
on Mar 27
Book review – Cro-Magnon: The Story of the Last Ice Age People of Europe
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Popular anthropology for grown-ups, Cro-Magnon presents a detailed and factual picture of the Last Ice Age people living in Europe.
on Mar 15
Book review – Talking Heads: The New Science of How Conversation Shapes Our Worlds
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Talking Heads defends the intriguing thesis that human conversation is a powerful yet underappreciated force that shapes many aspects of our lives.
on Mar 8
Book review – Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication
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Why Animals Talk is a highly stimulating and thought-provoking exercise in trying to understand animals on their terms and decentering the human experience.
on Mar 2
Book review – The Voices of Nature: How and Why Animals Communicate
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The Voices of Nature is an immersive sonic journey into animal communication, led by an expert in bioacoustics and ethology.
on Mar 1
Book review – Of Cockroaches and Crickets: Learning to Love Creatures That Skitter and Jump
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Cockroaches a pest? This is an entertaining memoir of one entomologist’s early research career, balanced with plenty of fascinating asides.
on Feb 17
Book review – A Curious Boy: The Making of a Scientist
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A bewitching memoir, A Curious Boy tells of palaeontologist Richard Fortey’s early years and shows the power of curiosity in shaping his life.
on Feb 15
Book review – The Evolutionary Origins of Life and Death
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The Evolutionary Origins of Life and Death combines a lucid overview of abiogenesis with an intriguing argument for how programmed cell death evolved in single-celled organisms.
on Feb 9
Book review – The Biology of Death: How Dying Shapes Cells, Organisms, & Populations
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The Biology of Death gives a panoramic overview of many topics but is marred by errors and omissions.
on Feb 1
Book review – Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will
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A tightly argued and compelling case in favour of free will, Free Agents provides thought-provoking ideas that are relevant far beyond this debate.
on Jan 24
Book review – Determined: Life Without Free Will
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The Inquisitive Biologist dips his toes in the free-will debate with this witty, accessible and thought-provoking book. But is Sapolsky’s hard rejection borne out by the data?
on Jan 22
Year list – The Inquisitive Biologist’s top 5 reads of 2023
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The Inquisitive Biologist looks back at 2023 and picks his five favourite books.
on Dec 31
Book review – An Illustrated Guide to Dinosaur Feeding Biology
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What and especially how did dinosaurs eat? This technical book gives a detailed taxonomic overview of a scattered literature.
on Dec 28
Book review – Dinosaur Behavior: An Illustrated Guide
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This is a handsomely illustrated book that offers an accessible, easy-to-read introduction to dinosaur behaviour and how it is studied.
on Dec 19, 2023
Book review – Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet
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A globetrotting reportage, Crossings is a wide-ranging and eye-opening account of the impacts of roads and how ecologists are trying to mitigate them.
on Dec 14, 2023
Book review – A Philosophy for the Science of Animal Consciousness
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This book proposes how animal consciousness could have gradually evolved, and is a challenging, thought-provoking, but worthwhile read.
on Dec 7, 2023
Book review – Wallace, Darwin, and the Origin of Species
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This detailed and even-handed analysis convincingly argues why Wallace deserves recognition as the co-discoverer of the theory of evolution.
on Nov 24, 2023
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This lovingly produced annotated transcription of Wallace’s Species Notebook unlocks a key piece of historical evidence for a broader audience, showing why he deserves recognition as the co-d…
on Nov 24, 2023
Book review – Radical by Nature: The Revolutionary Life of Alfred Russel Wallace
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Radical by Nature is an in-depth, intimate, and tremendously enjoyable biography of the long and remarkable life of Victorian naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.
on Nov 1, 2023