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The Secret Life of Fish: The Astonishing Truth about our Aquatic Cousins
Discover the astonishing truth about our aquatic how they think and what they know, their experiences and unique behaviours, and the many things we have in common. There are 33,000 species of fish on our planet, and that number is constantly increasing. In context, that is more than all the species of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles added together, making fish the most numerous vertebrates on our planet. Waters worldwide are teeming with these elusive creatures, but how much do we really know about them?
Grouped into thematic chapters – including the Dangerous and Deadly, Unusual Giants and Mini Marvels – in this comprehensive book biologist Doug Mackay-Hope profiles the secret lives of 50 of our most interesting underwater cousins in an insightful and myth-busting study, complete with charming watercolour diagrams and expert insights.
Learn about the White-Spotted Pufferfish, whose spines hide a deadly toxin, or the Ocellate River Stingray , who lurks in the rivers of South America and who can kill with just one touch of it's barbed stinger. Meet Bargibant's Pygmy Seahorse, who measures just 2cm in length, as well as the enourmous Whale Shark, which grows to around 13m in length. Be fascinated by the wierd creatures of the deep ocean, such as the Peter's Elephantnosed Fish or the kaleidescopic Picasso's Triggerfish. With a foreword by Jeremy Wade, presenter of River Monsters and Mighty Rivers, and official fish aficionado, this book is a complete compendium of fascinating fish facts , with maps showing where in the globe they can be found , plus facts on how they live, hunt and escape predators.
Beautiful illustrations and photographs accompany each entry, as well as interesting facts on how they evolved to adapt tochanging environments , making this book the perfect guide to all things aquatic.
Grouped into thematic chapters – including the Dangerous and Deadly, Unusual Giants and Mini Marvels – in this comprehensive book biologist Doug Mackay-Hope profiles the secret lives of 50 of our most interesting underwater cousins in an insightful and myth-busting study, complete with charming watercolour diagrams and expert insights.
Learn about the White-Spotted Pufferfish, whose spines hide a deadly toxin, or the Ocellate River Stingray , who lurks in the rivers of South America and who can kill with just one touch of it's barbed stinger. Meet Bargibant's Pygmy Seahorse, who measures just 2cm in length, as well as the enourmous Whale Shark, which grows to around 13m in length. Be fascinated by the wierd creatures of the deep ocean, such as the Peter's Elephantnosed Fish or the kaleidescopic Picasso's Triggerfish. With a foreword by Jeremy Wade, presenter of River Monsters and Mighty Rivers, and official fish aficionado, this book is a complete compendium of fascinating fish facts , with maps showing where in the globe they can be found , plus facts on how they live, hunt and escape predators.
Beautiful illustrations and photographs accompany each entry, as well as interesting facts on how they evolved to adapt tochanging environments , making this book the perfect guide to all things aquatic.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published November 2, 2021
12 people are currently reading
247 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 28, 2022
Interesting biographies of selected fish of the author's interest. I especially like the hand-painted pictures of each specimen, and precise reviews of each species. Very good for those with a bent towards icthyology or general zoology. If you don't care for that format--probablly not for you.
October 9, 2021
Perfect book for my kids and I to read together! My son is fascinated with ocean animals, this book has a lot of information. The pictures are vibrant and colorful, he has learned a lot. Thank you to NetGalley, Ivy Press, and the author for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.
January 29, 2023
This book was an absolute joy to read. Fifty fish are featured in just the right amount of detail, plus the author includes his stunning watercolor depictions of each species. The author’s personal interjections and the book’s length manage to make the book educational and entertaining without becoming too textbook-y. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who’s ever enjoyed walking around an aquarium or wanted to learn more about marine life. Well done!
October 3, 2021
The book cover and title are just the beginning...the illustrations and photographs within beautifully capture fish characteristics. Information includes zones where they live, habitats, eating and mating (and other) habits and loads of details on each species in the body and side bars. There are 33,000+ known species of fish in the world and I reckon there are thousands which are unidentified or even seen. Bodies of water are resplendent with mystery and intrigue and this fascinating book includes 50 fish species, common and less common, which inhabit them.
Amongst my favourites illustrated here are the white-spotted puffer which startles its predators, stunning lionfish (which, as is wittily pointed out, complicated to draw!) with its toxic spines, ocellate river stingray with excruciatingly painful barbed stinger, common thresher which...threshes its prey, cute bargibant's pygmy seahorse which is a masterful hider, clingy candiru with its unusual vampirism, less than lovely leopard moray eel, massive fast-growing hoodwinker sunfish, Peter's elephantnose fish which may be able to see colour where there is none, not so cute fanfin angler with a bunch of appendages, leafy seadragon which carries around its own forest and the sociable sardine. Each is intriguing. As I live in the Mediterranean part time one of my goals is to learn more about the sea and its creatures and what I'm swimming with!
Whether you know all about marine life or not, do read this riveting book. It hooked me immediately and I did not want it to end.
My sincere thank you to Quarto Publishing, Group - Ivy Press and NetGalley for the privilege of learning more about the secret lives of fish!
Amongst my favourites illustrated here are the white-spotted puffer which startles its predators, stunning lionfish (which, as is wittily pointed out, complicated to draw!) with its toxic spines, ocellate river stingray with excruciatingly painful barbed stinger, common thresher which...threshes its prey, cute bargibant's pygmy seahorse which is a masterful hider, clingy candiru with its unusual vampirism, less than lovely leopard moray eel, massive fast-growing hoodwinker sunfish, Peter's elephantnose fish which may be able to see colour where there is none, not so cute fanfin angler with a bunch of appendages, leafy seadragon which carries around its own forest and the sociable sardine. Each is intriguing. As I live in the Mediterranean part time one of my goals is to learn more about the sea and its creatures and what I'm swimming with!
Whether you know all about marine life or not, do read this riveting book. It hooked me immediately and I did not want it to end.
My sincere thank you to Quarto Publishing, Group - Ivy Press and NetGalley for the privilege of learning more about the secret lives of fish!
November 2, 2021
A beautiful book, in which 50 different species of fish are explained in a very interesting way and their descriptions are accompanied by drawings and maps. It is practically designed as a children's book and written as an essay for adults, absolute perfection!
Un libro bellissimo, in cui 50 specie di pesci diversi vengono spiegati in modo molto interessante e le loro descrizioni sono accompagnate da disegni e mappe. Praticamente é disegnato come un libro per bambini ed é scritto come un saggio per adulti, la perfezione assoluta!
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
Un libro bellissimo, in cui 50 specie di pesci diversi vengono spiegati in modo molto interessante e le loro descrizioni sono accompagnate da disegni e mappe. Praticamente é disegnato come un libro per bambini ed é scritto come un saggio per adulti, la perfezione assoluta!
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
March 20, 2023
An interesting and wide-spanning look into various fish species of the world, albeit a very poorly written one. Was this book even proof-read? I don’t think I’ve ever had to stop to re-read sentence mistakes more often than I have with this.
Other odd writing choices include referring to entire fish species as individuals, and referencing OCD and schizophrenia to describe fish behaviour in what came across like attempts at humour. Not a fan.
Other odd writing choices include referring to entire fish species as individuals, and referencing OCD and schizophrenia to describe fish behaviour in what came across like attempts at humour. Not a fan.
December 30, 2021
This was a truly spectacular read. I loved every single minute of this book. I also learnt so much from this book it was truly a delight to read. It is very informative with splashes of humour thrown in to lighten the mood and make you smile while reading it. I loved the authors little paints of the fish at the start of every fish description. Also the collection of fish pictures before the start of the section this added to the overall enjoyment of the book it added that special something, made it feel more personal. I love how it was split into sections like dangerous fish or ancient fish as it was more engaging than the standard split into country or regions. I loved the close up pictures of each fish in there natural habitats. There was a fantastic bio of each fish and a world map showing its distribution across the globe. I was actually surprised at how many were found around the United Kingdom. This was just a perfect book in every way. This book was so interesting that it would be brilliant for all the family and a very useful learning aid for all those people like me fascinated by the natural world that we live amongst. This book due to its wonderful cover would be brilliant as a centre piece book to stand out in your collection. I can't recommend this book enough. I can't wait to read more by this author. With his talent he really should start creating a collection of children's books.
So much praise goes to the author and publishing team for creating this stunning page turning, extremely interesting and informative book for us all to enjoy.
So much praise goes to the author and publishing team for creating this stunning page turning, extremely interesting and informative book for us all to enjoy.
October 11, 2021
The Secret Life of Fish by Doug MacKay is an informative and attractive glimpse at a wide variety os aquatic creatures.
Each species has a painting of the animal which, the writer admits, is not so much meant to be correct in every minute detail but to capture the essence of the animal. Most of the entries also include a photograph of some sort as well. Although these images make the book nice looking, the actual text entries are what make it appealing. We get a bit of science, some folklore where appropriate, and the conservation status as well.
This is an excellent book for those who simply like to learn about animals and would be a particularly effective book for younger readers and their parents to explore together. The writing is geared toward the adult reader but is kept quite accessible and would allow a young reader to gain an interest in nature, the world, and science.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Each species has a painting of the animal which, the writer admits, is not so much meant to be correct in every minute detail but to capture the essence of the animal. Most of the entries also include a photograph of some sort as well. Although these images make the book nice looking, the actual text entries are what make it appealing. We get a bit of science, some folklore where appropriate, and the conservation status as well.
This is an excellent book for those who simply like to learn about animals and would be a particularly effective book for younger readers and their parents to explore together. The writing is geared toward the adult reader but is kept quite accessible and would allow a young reader to gain an interest in nature, the world, and science.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
October 23, 2021
A wonderful book! If you want to learn fun things or even if you don't, you should definitely read this book! It's written in a way that's easy to understand, but still suitable for fish enthusiasts. Would be a great reference book for aquarium visits, but can also be read cover to cover quite easily! The illustrations convey so much personality and are so cute. The only problem with this book is that the author is overly fond of run-on sentences. I totally get it though; fish are too exciting to use short sentences. New favorite fish fact: icefish, which live near Antarctica, have colorless blood! This is because they lack hemoglobin, and they are the only fish that do this!
eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 1, 2023
Had never thought about reading a book about fish but this caught my eye so I gave it a try & found it very readable & informative. The maps didn't always coordinate well with the text but his watercolor illustrations were lovely.
July 20, 2024
I love this book! It was charming, full of excellent science and wonderful illustrations and excellent British natural history humor.
June 28, 2025
Very nice illustrations!
May 14, 2023
I truly loved this book. A fascinating insight into 50 wonderful fish.
Each fish is covered in 4 pages. I feel this is enough space to do justice in giving an overview of the fish along with some interesting aspect of it (whether its a unique evolutionary feature, or a historical story or whatever). Any longer then it becomes too in depth for the everyday reader; any shorter it becomes just a boring factsheet.
I also particularly loved how the book was organised into different interesting groupings such as "Dangerous and Deadly", "Miniature Marvels" or "World Travellers". It stopped the book feeling repetitive, because after 7 or so fish, you would change perspective from predators to miniatures and so on.
A couple of my favourites from this book were: Red Lionfish, Pygmy Seahorse, Giant Oarfish and perhaps my favourite looking is the Leafy Seadragon.
Anyway, highly recommend this for any person, young or old, with a passing interest in natural history - or to use a word I learnt from this book - itchthyology (study of fish). Thank you Doug Mackay-Hope, your book has a proud place on my bookshelf.
Each fish is covered in 4 pages. I feel this is enough space to do justice in giving an overview of the fish along with some interesting aspect of it (whether its a unique evolutionary feature, or a historical story or whatever). Any longer then it becomes too in depth for the everyday reader; any shorter it becomes just a boring factsheet.
I also particularly loved how the book was organised into different interesting groupings such as "Dangerous and Deadly", "Miniature Marvels" or "World Travellers". It stopped the book feeling repetitive, because after 7 or so fish, you would change perspective from predators to miniatures and so on.
A couple of my favourites from this book were: Red Lionfish, Pygmy Seahorse, Giant Oarfish and perhaps my favourite looking is the Leafy Seadragon.
Anyway, highly recommend this for any person, young or old, with a passing interest in natural history - or to use a word I learnt from this book - itchthyology (study of fish). Thank you Doug Mackay-Hope, your book has a proud place on my bookshelf.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews