Review by Choice Review
In his alphabetically arranged bestiary that follows stylistically ancient bestiaries, UK-based writer/journalist Henderson covers 13 invertebrates and 14 vertebrates, ranging in size from Foraminifera to humans, and in habitat, from ocean to freshwater to land. Though each chapter focuses on a single organism, chapters are very broad and cover an array of topics such as climate change and the functioning of nervous systems. The book is an exciting read, as readers never know where the author will take them. Each chapter begins with a full-page drawing that includes the organism and an alphabet letter page that includes some taxonomic details; pages that discuss the organism follow. Chapters also feature marginal drawings, photos of the organism, and an occasional chart or line drawing. Besides marginal notes, the book contains two appendixes, "Biological Classification" and "Deep Time." The bibliography is arranged by creatures. A useful index supports the text. It is difficult to find a similar book, although Richard Dawkins's The Ancestor's Tale uses the metaphor of The Canterbury Tales to cover some of the same sorts of evolutionary stories found in this volume. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. L. T. Spencer emeritus, Plymouth State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Tangentially inspired by Jorge Luis Borges's Book of Imaginary Beings, and assembled like a cabinet of curiosities, journalist Henderson's first book highlights what nonhuman species reveal about being human. The disarmingly human face of the Axolotl salamander introduces a reflection on evolution, which wanders into the history of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, before landing on the question of what the Axolotl's ability to regenerate limbs can reveal about stem cells. It's an oddly anthropomorphic argument to abandon anthropomorphism, but as exotic salamanders and transparent octopi give way to miniscule water bears, whiskered owlets, and the honey badger, Henderson's contagious awe of life effortlessly advances his argument. The captivating habits of these beings are given significant scientific backbone, before digressing into a free-flowing discourse. As Henderson admits, such efforts yield some fairly abstruse connections. The moray eel and its monstrous pharyngeal jaw links easily to our fascination with horrors of the deep, but not as clearly to D.H. Lawrence's interpretation of Moby Dick and the atom bomb. The heart of the book lies in chapters such as the one deconstructing the Macaque monkey, a hierarchal species that mirrors both our own social Darwinism and our better heroic nature. Agent: James Macdonald Lockhart, Antony Harwood, Ltd. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Common in the Middle Ages, bestiaries were richly illustrated descriptions of both real and mythological animals accompanied by moralizing commentary. The present volume, following that pattern, provides zoological information on 27 real animals, both terrestrial and marine, some endangered and some already extinct. The dolphin, flatworm, human(!), right whale, and octopus are among the animals examined. Henderson, a British journalist, provides historical, literary, and philosophical background on each animal, along with discussion of environmental and human threats to its survival. Photographs, drawings, diagrams, medieval-style frontispieces and illuminated capitals, as in the original bestiaries, and quotations from writers in diverse fields enrich the text. The conclusion provides a warning about environmental resources and pollution. Two informative appendixes cover the zoological classification system and the time line of geological eras. VERDICT This reviewer found no comparable titles in terms of this book's scheme, approach, and format. This readable volume, tracing the history of science and philosophy in relation to each animal, will appeal to the serious reader with broad interests in science, mythology, folklore, and speculation on questions of the human condition.-Judith B. Barnett, Univ. of Rhode Island Lib., Kingston (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
