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55th out of 71 books
—
18 voters
Bats Sing, Mice Giggle: The Surprising Science of Animals' Inner Lives
"Amazing, moving and enlightening. Bats Sing, Mice Giggle presents the latest findings on the intimate lives of animals with great elegance. I recommend it wholeheartedly."—Larry King
"Did you know that spiders taste with their feet, that a decapitated cockroach can live for two weeks, that a certain type of parrotfish wraps itself in a sort of foul-smelling snot before tak...more
"Did you know that spiders taste with their feet, that a decapitated cockroach can live for two weeks, that a certain type of parrotfish wraps itself in a sort of foul-smelling snot before tak...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
August 17th 2010
by Icon Books
(first published January 1st 2010)
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Did you know that bats compose their own songs? That mice giggle when tickled? That porpoises go to sleep in only one half of their brains at a time? That lizards do push-ups to seduce a mate, that elephants ‘hear’ through their feet, or that rats laugh?
Drawing upon the very latest scientific research, Karen Shanor and Jagmeet Kanwal show how animals build, create and entertain themselves and others; how they express grief, joy, anger and fear; how animal ‘friends’ keep in touch; and how some an...more
Drawing upon the very latest scientific research, Karen Shanor and Jagmeet Kanwal show how animals build, create and entertain themselves and others; how they express grief, joy, anger and fear; how animal ‘friends’ keep in touch; and how some an...more
Though the adage warns readers not to judge books by their covers, there should also be a warning about not basing expectations on titles! From the rather cutesy title, I really expected this book to be filled with more adorable anecdotes on animals. There were some of these stories, but just not the quantity that I expected. It was still an entertaining read, that was rather light on the neuroscience aspect that promised to give this book its own angle. The writing was quite clear, and easy to...more
This book is a great source of wild animal behavior facts, but it wants to tackle too much and its organization isn't great.
It also seems to stop just short of examining the most debated and human-like qualities of animals - things like love, empathy, abstract creativity...
What you *will* see is a mass of science-based stories of how elephants pick up vibrations through their feet, whales have rhythm and monkeys lie. They're all entertaining.
The authors fit these tales into "Sensing," "Survivi...more
It also seems to stop just short of examining the most debated and human-like qualities of animals - things like love, empathy, abstract creativity...
What you *will* see is a mass of science-based stories of how elephants pick up vibrations through their feet, whales have rhythm and monkeys lie. They're all entertaining.
The authors fit these tales into "Sensing," "Survivi...more
When I started reading Bats Sing, Mice Giggle, I think that I anticipated something along the lines of Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" about the science of Animal Behavior and Neurobiology. I was quite excited about the topic, as animal behavior is quite fascinating. However, while I enjoyed this book, I felt that it wasn't sure just what it wanted to be - a lighthearted romp, or a detailed overview for scientists. In some areas, I thought that the scientific detail was too...more
This book was received free from Library Thing in exchange for review.
I love reading popular science books, and books on animal behavior are always fun. This had a lot going for it. But it also had a lot against it.
FOR: Animals are interesting. Great subject matter. All kinds of quirky bits of info I'd never heard before, which was why I wanted to read it in the first place.
AGAINST: Wow, where to start? First, the style was a little too breezy and tried too much to be funny. It was a little jarr...more
I love reading popular science books, and books on animal behavior are always fun. This had a lot going for it. But it also had a lot against it.
FOR: Animals are interesting. Great subject matter. All kinds of quirky bits of info I'd never heard before, which was why I wanted to read it in the first place.
AGAINST: Wow, where to start? First, the style was a little too breezy and tried too much to be funny. It was a little jarr...more
Interesting, but more a listing of random animal facts grouped into themed chapters than a cohesive book on animal behavior. The book also seemed to jump around in regards to reading/knowledge levels, at times assuming a high level of knowledge by the reader and at other times a low level. All of the information presented was intriguing and I would want to learn more, but did not really feel like this book had depth.
If I had skipped the Introduction, I would have enjoyed this book more. The writing style is a strange combination of formal scholarly writing and colloquial writing, a formal sentence that includes a phrase like 'those guys'. The Introduction defined what was included in each and every chapter, with a little description thrown in.
The rest of the book was really interesting, telling what scientists have learned about how animals behave and how they learned things. For example, we know that mice...more
The rest of the book was really interesting, telling what scientists have learned about how animals behave and how they learned things. For example, we know that mice...more
This is a great review of research in the animal world. It really makes you think about how much we don't know about our non-human animal friends. Great, easy read that will make you smile, laugh and think about the world we inhabit.
Not the best bed time read since there was a lot of scientific jargon that went over my sleepy head. There was a lot of interesting information on animals and how they communicate and sense the environment around them.
Jan 27, 2013
Leonora
added it
I'm no good at reviews so I'll make this swift.
It was a fun and informative glance into the private lives of various animals, with a few specific cases that were really interesting.
A good start for any people interested in animal behaviour.
It was a fun and informative glance into the private lives of various animals, with a few specific cases that were really interesting.
A good start for any people interested in animal behaviour.
Very enlightening and scientifically sourced. A great read for anyone interested in the higher brain functions of animals.
I love books that I learn from, especially where the natural world is concerned.
Bad editing-- frustrating and irritating. Every time they start to discuss something fascinating they break off and leave you hanging. Some of it seems to be written for third graders. I would say it was awful but there some of it that is POTENTIALLY terrific.
This book desperately needs a new editor!
This book desperately needs a new editor!
Good general intro re animal behavior
I was disappointed in this book. With a title so playful as Bat's Sing, Mice Giggle, The Surprising Science of Animals' Inner Lives, I was expecting a more "heartwarming" approach to teaching the reader the science of these mysterious phenomenons. It was just too heavy handed on the science side and too dry on the emotional side for me. I enjoy science and discovering new things, but I am not a scientist, and I was expecting a more "readable" book for the average animal/nature lover.
Nov 11, 2010
Donna Jo Atwood
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
animals,
nonfiction
Very readable book about animals--how they communicate, how they express their feelings, how they manage their world.
Always nice to learn new things of interest, even when most of it will just be trivia and only a grain remembered. See how it goes
A quick read full of animal behaviour snippets. Could have gone into some more detail, but there were some fun facts in here.
only got half way through. Just didn't capture my attention.
As an overview about animal behaviour, this was awesome.
B23760901F
Apr 28, 2013
Lucy
marked it as kindle-to-read
Apr 06, 2013
Patty Dahlgren
added it
Mar 20, 2013
Erin Drinkwater
marked it as to-read
Feb 25, 2013
Brian Lohne
added it
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“at least a fifth of all mammalian species are bats.”
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1 person liked it
“What they discovered was that not only fish, but spiders and many insects can taste their food by the structures that are most likely to first come in contact with the food. And this in many invertebrate species turns out to be the feet.”
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1 person liked it
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