it looks a little intimidating, but this book is fascinating and singularly readable。 Ed Yong has a way of seamlessly inserting the perfect quote in exactly the right place to make a point so powerfully clear that the reader is compelled to experience the world in a different way。 I grew dendrites reading this book。 My brain is tingling!
Lilisa,
Hold on to your seats, this is a fascinating look at the world of animal and insect senses。 Humans tend to see the whole world through our senses only, but the world of animals, insects, and other creatures and how they sense things is very different, diverse, and captivating。 Humans are generally oblivious about this whole other world of senses。 Ed Yong does a great job of walking us through this whole other world, albeit sometimes a bit technical for me, with a lot of details。 From the taste b Hold on to your seats, this is a fascinating look at the world of animal and insect senses。 Humans tend to see the whole world through our senses only, but the world of animals, insects, and other creatures and how they sense things is very different, diverse, and captivating。 Humans are generally oblivious about this whole other world of senses。 Ed Yong does a great job of walking us through this whole other world, albeit sometimes a bit technical for me, with a lot of details。 From the taste buds of catfish (wow) to the intricate dance of positive and negative draws of insects and flowers, to echolocation and more, this book literally opened my senses to the world around me。 Incorporating what we know about animal senses into how we operate in the human world would make a huge difference in mitigating/eliminating issues such as wildlife impacts as a result of wind turbines, etc。 I found it best to read this book over a period of time in small doses, unlike Yong’s other book I read - I Contain Multitudes, which I felt was easier to digest at a faster pace。 Not better, just different。 All in all a great read。 Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book。 。。。more
Won this book in the Goodreads giveaway and I was so excited to read it。 It did not disappoint! This is easily one of my favorite zoology books I have read this year。 This book is jam packed with so much amazing information to learn from。 Right from the start the book sucks you in and immerses you in such a fascinating world of animal senses and nature。 It goes over more than just the basic senses that we all know, and includes chapters on some really cool and less known sense such as being able Won this book in the Goodreads giveaway and I was so excited to read it。 It did not disappoint! This is easily one of my favorite zoology books I have read this year。 This book is jam packed with so much amazing information to learn from。 Right from the start the book sucks you in and immerses you in such a fascinating world of animal senses and nature。 It goes over more than just the basic senses that we all know, and includes chapters on some really cool and less known sense such as being able to sense vibrations and effectively communicate with them。 I really enjoyed Yong's style of writing as well, it had humor but also made sure to stay factual and precise。 I did feel like the ending chapter was a little brief and almost felt a little rushed, but global warming and it's effect on animals and nature is such a mammoth topic to try to talk about, so I understand。 It does an amazing job at showing how non-fiction books should be written and paced。 It is so easy for non-fiction books to feel like their just textbooks riddling off facts, but Yong did a wonderful job at keeping the reader engaged and interested。 It's definitely a big book, and there is a lot of material to take in but the pacing made it feel less overwhelming。 It also does a great job at explaining everything you need to know about animal senses, which makes it a great book for everyone。 You don't need an advanced knowledge of science or zoology to be able to read this, enjoy it, and learn from it。 There is so much to take away from this book, and I could not recommend this book enough for animal lovers or people looking to get into zoology, like me。 I would even recommend this for science lovers in general, because it is such an important book to read that can teach you so much about nature and animals。 Special thanks to the publisher Random House, NetGalley and Goodreads for an advanced copy of the book。 。 。。。more
Kelli,
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review。AHH THIS WAS SO AMAZING! It was like this book was made for me。 Really cool and niche facts about all kinds of animals and how they sense the world? Check。 History lessons about the origin of popular scientific theories on senses? Check。 Interviews with animal scientists at the cutting edge of research on animal senses? Check。 Tie-ins with the Anthropocene and COVID-19 and how humans are impacting animals Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review。AHH THIS WAS SO AMAZING! It was like this book was made for me。 Really cool and niche facts about all kinds of animals and how they sense the world? Check。 History lessons about the origin of popular scientific theories on senses? Check。 Interviews with animal scientists at the cutting edge of research on animal senses? Check。 Tie-ins with the Anthropocene and COVID-19 and how humans are impacting animals' abilities to use their senses? Check, check, and check!I absolutely loved the way the material in this book was presented。 The author first takes you on a journey through senses more familiar to us, like taste, smell, and vision。 Despite the perceived familiarity of these senses, there was such a wide variety of examples presented for how different animals use these senses that I was always surprised。 The descriptions of how different animals might see the world in various ways were especially cool! I have a newfound reverence for birds from the chapter on seeing color alone。He then moves on to senses a bit harder for us to imagine, like sensing heat, vibrations, and various methods animals use to sense sound。 I found these to be the most technically intense of the book, but it was still easy enough to follow and the underlying physics and biology were well explained。 These chapters left me in awe at how much I am missing by not being able to hear infrasound or ultrasound。 The world is so much louder than we think! The author then focuses on senses that are pretty much impossible for humans to imagine, such as echolocation and sensing electric or magnetic fields。 The chapter on echolocation was by far my ultimate favorite!!! I learned so much about bats and toothed whales, and how precise and COOL their senses can be。 The author also really tries hard to describe sensing electricity or magnetic fields in a way that we can imagine, as he really wants you to appreciate what these animals perceive。 And the animal facts in these chapters were also so mindblowing- I had no idea there is still so much we don't know about these senses!The end of this book tied everything together nicely by reminding us that animals combine many of the different senses he describes as they navigate the world, and that human activity has been slowly but surely limiting their perception, mainly through light and sound pollution。Overall this is for sure one of my all-time favorite books, and I learned so much about animals and all the things they can "see" or "feel" that are invisible to me。 Will definitely be buying a physical copy once this comes out! 。。。more
aarya,
currently readingDisclaimer: I listened to a free audiobook from the publisher (PRH Audio App) in exchange for an honest review。
Aria Harlow,
This was such an interesting and informative read showing how other animals/species experience the world around them through their senses。 It was a fascinating read。
Dennis,
An Immense World is a well-written book by Ed Yong, whom I’ve enjoyed hearing discuss covid on NPR over the past couple years, and is scheduled for publication June 21st。It’s an immense book, also, filled with examples of various animals and their senses from sight and sonar to electric and magnetic fields, and the ways humans try to learn about them。 I’m not very interested in the scientific details (cells, neurons, rods, cones, whatever) of how something works, but rather in the variety of res An Immense World is a well-written book by Ed Yong, whom I’ve enjoyed hearing discuss covid on NPR over the past couple years, and is scheduled for publication June 21st。It’s an immense book, also, filled with examples of various animals and their senses from sight and sonar to electric and magnetic fields, and the ways humans try to learn about them。 I’m not very interested in the scientific details (cells, neurons, rods, cones, whatever) of how something works, but rather in the variety of results in how the animal relates to the world。 The author does a good job of mixing these aspects so that my eyes would only glaze over briefly。 I often found myself looking up photos of the animals being written about, such as when I wanted to see a scallop’s dozens of (often bright blue) eyes。 Apparently, many species can see the ultraviolet light which we can not--we like to think we see the world accurately, but we’re really just another species like all of them, who use their senses to live in a species subjective world。 The author makes the point that this is not a book about ranking or superiority, but about diversity, and that all creatures have worth in themselves, quoting a passage about animals from Henry Beston which I’ve always loved。 And yet 。 。 。 When encountering new facts about an animal, I’d often think how fascinating it was。 If you like the subject and accept it at face value, you’ll enjoy the book。 But thinking of the experiments needed to learn those facts, I’d be reminded of how humans regard the planet and all life on it merely as objects to be manipulated。 If a person uses other people that way, they’re considered narcissistic, sociopathic, self-centered, egotistical, etc。 I don’t believe there’s a meaningful difference when the attitude is directed toward other forms of life。 Sure, cool facts, and occasionally we even use those facts to try to solve a problem we created, but I would have been a lot happier living in a society which had fewer cool facts about other forms of life and more respect for that life。 That society probably wouldn’t have created the problems in the first place。In the final chapter, the author moves away from particular senses and examples to a bigger picture。 He justly bemoans the damage our species has done to the planet and the interference done to animals’ lives inadvertently, but all of the previous chapters are about interference done deliberately。 Conveniently, it turns out that he considers our ability to try to figure out other animals our greatest sensory skill and that we must choose to do so (to give credit, he does acknowledge it’s not something we’ve earned)。 So much for other animals having worth in themselves—their lives are ours to control。 He also mentions that he agrees with Cronon’s famous essay about the word wilderness and how it affects the human/nature relationship。 There have been many rebuttals and clarifications about that essay over the years, all of it is just human-centered wordplay, but I have to comment。 Sure, if you have a backyard, it’s a form of nature you can find wonder in, and it should be respected and treated with care。 It may be wilderness for an insect, but a grizzly bear or a wolverine can’t live there。 I lived in Yellowstone for four years, and to claim that everywhere is wilderness and there is no qualitative difference in the value of different locations is simply foolish。 People are dependent on and should live as a part of nature, but most in this country don’t。 When people try to spend as much of their lives as possible removed from nature, it’s disingenuous to claim that people are a part of it when it’s convenient to the argument。To sum up, a lot of information about animal senses and how those senses affect how the animals live (or evolutionarily vice versa), and a lot of concern expressed about them and the planet。 The concerns are valid but they don’t question the status quo deeply enough。 It’s like being meticulous about recycling while living a high consumption lifestyle, or only eating free range chickens—it might make you feel better, but it doesn’t solve the underlying problem。 People who have an interest in animals but believe people are more important than anything else will enjoy the book。 People who don’t share that opinion will learn a lot of details but be left unsatisfied。Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the advance copy to review。 。。。more
Amanda,
A look at the world through other species' eyes/nose/ears/tongue/skin。。。An Immense World concerns itself with umwelt, the way other creatures experience their environment。 Each chapter takes a different sense, then expands it to illustrate the myriad ways in which organisms have adapted to survive in their habitat。Science journalist Ed Yong's research is all-encompassing。 and demonstrates his enthusiasm for the subject。 He takes pains to include the history of our understanding of the senses, wi A look at the world through other species' eyes/nose/ears/tongue/skin。。。An Immense World concerns itself with umwelt, the way other creatures experience their environment。 Each chapter takes a different sense, then expands it to illustrate the myriad ways in which organisms have adapted to survive in their habitat。Science journalist Ed Yong's research is all-encompassing。 and demonstrates his enthusiasm for the subject。 He takes pains to include the history of our understanding of the senses, with the inference being there is still much to learn。Just amazing。 A book to come back to time and again。My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC。 。。。more
Alex,
Amazing info! Loved the book! Will read it again。
Julia Patterson,
it’s not often I find a book I consider really eye opening but this book an immense world by Ed yong is one that has the potential to be life changing。 By the end of the prologue I was practically screaming in excitement that someone finally wrote a book about something I’m passionate about, learning about animals by trying to understand the world from their point of view。 The best part is the author is able to do this without the idea of human superiority and include vastly different examples o it’s not often I find a book I consider really eye opening but this book an immense world by Ed yong is one that has the potential to be life changing。 By the end of the prologue I was practically screaming in excitement that someone finally wrote a book about something I’m passionate about, learning about animals by trying to understand the world from their point of view。 The best part is the author is able to do this without the idea of human superiority and include vastly different examples of species。 Throughout my life I’ve explored this through observation and more recently spiritual tradition but now finally this book is a puzzle piece that was needed the scientific explanations 。 This book is very science heavy and well researched exploring the way animals look at the world and gives insight into this vastness we humans are incapable of comprehending as mammals。 It’s mind blowing and wonderfully done not to show humans as the kings of the world but to open our minds towards ways of seeing it that we can hardly imagine and back up that with science。 It’s a book that’s hard to explain but well worth reading。 I think mines an advance reader copy but buy this when it comes out。 Animal lover or not this book makes you think about the world in entirely new ways! 。。。more
Kathleen,
This book opens new worlds。
Shawn,
This book was terrific!It is about senses and how sidebars species perceive the world。 The author uses engaging stories and vivid descriptions that truly make you feel that you can almost imagine how these animals perceive the world。 There are fun facts, humor, and great research。 If you are a fan of science, of Mary Roach's books, and of annoying your spouse every time you read the next cool fact。。。 you will love this book。 Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity This book was terrific!It is about senses and how sidebars species perceive the world。 The author uses engaging stories and vivid descriptions that truly make you feel that you can almost imagine how these animals perceive the world。 There are fun facts, humor, and great research。 If you are a fan of science, of Mary Roach's books, and of annoying your spouse every time you read the next cool fact。。。 you will love this book。 Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book。 #animmenseworld #netgalley 。。。more
Laura Jones,
This is a book all about the senses。 It looks at those we are familiar with every day such as sight, smell, taste, touch and sound, but also discusses other senses like electrical and magnetic fields and vibrations。 But crucially, this look looks at the senses via the experiences of other organisms: animals, birds and insects。 We learn how these different senses work in different creatures and how their experiences of the world vary from our human one。 The science is explained in a very straight This is a book all about the senses。 It looks at those we are familiar with every day such as sight, smell, taste, touch and sound, but also discusses other senses like electrical and magnetic fields and vibrations。 But crucially, this look looks at the senses via the experiences of other organisms: animals, birds and insects。 We learn how these different senses work in different creatures and how their experiences of the world vary from our human one。 The science is explained in a very straightforward, easy to understand manner and it never becomes too technical。 Each chapter is jam packed with new facts and information and because of this, it is not a book to be read in one sitting。 Read it in small chunks so you can really appreciate just how much there is to learn from this book。 There are many different examples from all across the animal world to illustrate how each sense is experienced in wildly varied ways and it is a book that will constantly keep you entertained and wanting to learn more。My only gripe is the overuse of footnotes。 They are present on nearly every page and often go over onto the next page, making the reading experience feel clunky as I was constantly reading back over what I’d just read to find the context for the footnote。 A few footnotes is fine, but many of those in this book are substantial enough that they could have been made part of the main text。 For this reason, I have knocked a star off my review because, although the content of the book is excellent, I also want an enjoyable reading experience which I did not have because of the copious footnotes。With thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for providing an advance review copy。 All opinions in this review are my own。 。。。more
Ula Tardigrade,
What a delight!I am a longtime fan of Ed Yong。 He is one of my favorite popular science authors。 I loved his first book, I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life, but for years I was also following his writing in The Atlantic。 His painstaking COVID coverage was brilliant and eye-opening。 I remember how frank he was about the cost of spending almost two years immersed in such a harrowing topic, and how he announced that he will take a few months off to finish his bo What a delight!I am a longtime fan of Ed Yong。 He is one of my favorite popular science authors。 I loved his first book, I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life, but for years I was also following his writing in The Atlantic。 His painstaking COVID coverage was brilliant and eye-opening。 I remember how frank he was about the cost of spending almost two years immersed in such a harrowing topic, and how he announced that he will take a few months off to finish his book, on which he worked when the pandemic struck。 And here it is, a perfect break from grim tales of the many dark months。The subject of animal senses is as fascinating as bacteria, on which he focused in his first book (though I think Yong could make any topic interesting)。 He takes readers on a breathtaking tour, sharing his discoveries and his amazement with the natural world。 He has an unrivaled ability to explain complicated scientific facts in a comprehensive and engaging manner。 And his writing is so warm and funny - I always appreciate a good pun and he doesn’t miss any opportunity to make one。 You will find here answers to many questions you may have been asking yourself, such as “how does a dog's sense of smell works” or “are other animals see the same colors as we”。 But Yong also answers questions that you would never think to ask, and these are the best parts。 One of my favorite new, mind-boggling facts that I have learned from this book is that animals see at different speeds - so according to a turtle we humans are buzzing around like busy bees, and to a bee - we are sluggish as turtles。Many thanks to the publisher, Random House, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book。 。。。more
Layne Williams,
Initial Thots:Ed Yong popped the fuck off yall! First of all, my man Ed Yong is FUNNY。 I'm not a science gal by any means and often find that writing dense with foreign technical terms and scientisty gobbledygook feels intimidating, unaccessible and unengaging。 Mr。 Yong, however, is a sneaky one! Instead of gatekeeping science with disorienting science speak, Yong conveys complex concepts in a witty and easily digestible manner。 While the "conscious experiences of other animals are inherently ha Initial Thots:Ed Yong popped the fuck off yall! First of all, my man Ed Yong is FUNNY。 I'm not a science gal by any means and often find that writing dense with foreign technical terms and scientisty gobbledygook feels intimidating, unaccessible and unengaging。 Mr。 Yong, however, is a sneaky one! Instead of gatekeeping science with disorienting science speak, Yong conveys complex concepts in a witty and easily digestible manner。 While the "conscious experiences of other animals are inherently hard to imagine" thanks to our limited human toolbox, Yong skillfully guides us into the immense world (hehe get it?) of animal senses by getting us to think beyond our own experiences with the world。 What we sense and perceive is only a tiny piece of the picture and there's so much going on around us we just aren't aware of。 We all know dogs are great smellers, but boy did the chapter on smell amaze me with just HOW great dogs are at smelling things。 I'm talking top tier sniffing technology。 Learning a bit about how my treasured yorkie, whose umwelt is highly influenced by smells, senses his environment has even inspired me to copy one of the scientists Yong meets with and pledge to take my dog on weekly smell walks。 my pup thanks you ed。 My important takeaways: magnetoreception exists, humans can echolocate, there's some lady who can see more colors than the rest of us but is super chill about it, scientists know a lot but also don't know a lot 。。。more
Nigel,
Briefly - Simply fascinating - our senses are rather impoverished! In fullWOW - Ed Yong, author and science journalist, takes us on a tour of senses and how the animal kingdom widely has developed and used senses。 The introductory chapter got my attention very well。 The idea of a room with many occupants of different species each with different primary senses。 The range of what would be perceived by very varied species is remarkable and thought provoking。 The author opens with some thoughts on t Briefly - Simply fascinating - our senses are rather impoverished! In fullWOW - Ed Yong, author and science journalist, takes us on a tour of senses and how the animal kingdom widely has developed and used senses。 The introductory chapter got my attention very well。 The idea of a room with many occupants of different species each with different primary senses。 The range of what would be perceived by very varied species is remarkable and thought provoking。 The author opens with some thoughts on the approach of this book。 The idea is to avoid comparisons and "ranking"。 This does make sense for many reasons really。 There are very widely differing habitats and difficulties in designing experiments when we don't have much of an understanding of the senses we are trying to test。Throw in the difficulties of trying to decide just what senses there actually are and how to define and you get some feeling for the complexities being tackled in this book。 I did like the quote from Proust - ""not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes"。 It felt appropriate。I found the journey I was taken on was fascinating - almost to an overwhelming degree。 When I'm reading a book to review I generally read just that book continuously。 This one I took breaks from。 In part there was just so much to process here (it wasn't a subject I knew much about)。 This is not a criticism of the book however。 It is written in a very accessible way for something quite so complex。While I mentioned that the book started with the idea that it was not going to make comparisons and ranking of senses I do think it "failed" on the comparisons aspect。 However it would be virtually impossible to write this book about senses within a species without referring to the senses that are predominant in another species。 I didn't find that this bothered me。It's hard to come up with one or two favourite topics in this book - there were just so many for me。 The sheer sensitivity of some animal senses just blew me away。 That owls have asymmetric ears that are accurate to 2 degrees。 That otters and seals can track the "wake" left by fishes from 200 yards away。 That birds hear bird song very differently from us and that the song varies in ways we simply cannot hear。 That turtles have inbuilt location senses that are remarkable。 There is simply so much in here to be fascinated by。I found the last chapter is quite brief but very interesting。 It did feel slightly out of sync with the rest of the book。 It concerns the way we disrupt animal senses in some quite dramatic fashions。 For me it was a subject that could have had more space devoted to it - maybe another book!This really is not a book to rush。 It deserves time to be taken over it and will reward the interested reader amply。 For me the fact that in most cases our senses are relatively poor was an overarching aspect of this。 Related to that is the fact that, certainly in the past, we have attempted to judge animals senses by what we think they might be like。 This is simply so far from the mark in so many cases as to emphasize how little we know and understand about this world we inhabit and abuse。 This is a fascinating insight into the diversity of animal senses - I'd happily recommend it to anyone with any interest in the subject。Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair reviewhttps://viewson。org。uk/non-fiction/an。。。 。。。more
Sam,
Ever wondered how a bat views the world? Or the 3rd arm of an octopus? How about your pet dog - it can't be that different to us, can it?This book looks at the world of senses: how they vary between animals and how those differences influence their perception of the world they inhabit。 You are going to read the word "umwelt" an awful lot!The senses include ones you would expect: smell, hearing, sight and how they vary; but also things like echolocation, electric and magnetic fields, heat, vibrat Ever wondered how a bat views the world? Or the 3rd arm of an octopus? How about your pet dog - it can't be that different to us, can it?This book looks at the world of senses: how they vary between animals and how those differences influence their perception of the world they inhabit。 You are going to read the word "umwelt" an awful lot!The senses include ones you would expect: smell, hearing, sight and how they vary; but also things like echolocation, electric and magnetic fields, heat, vibrations etc。 Chapters break down these senses - how they work (or we think they do), how we, as humans, are able to interpret them and what they are used for。There's a strong focus on trying to remove the human-focused experience of a sense so that we can attempt to appreciate how animals really experience the world - and how that is important when we consider our impact on the environment。Ed Yong writes with a lightness and humour - explaining what can be pretty complex, and often quite new, science in a way that is understandable whilst avoiding the feeling of being dumbed down。If you have even a vague interest in animal science or the natural world then I can't recommend this enough。Thanks to Vintage Books for providing a netgalley review copy。 。。。more
Barbara Crossler,
Really enjoyed the way the information was presented。 Fascinating to consider the inter - connectivity of the different animal, fish, and insect species with each other and with us humans!
Roy Kenagy,
DMPL。 ON ORDER。 HOLD PLACED 3/6/2022
Chantal Lyons,
Ed Yong has produced an immense book that delves into the mind-blowing world of senses across the animal kingdom - prepare to say "wow" out loud a lot as you read it。'An Immense World' is not a book you can read in a few sittings。 Yong actually expects quite a lot of his readers, which isn't a bad thing。 Every page is full of fascinating information。 By coincidence, shortly before starting Yong's book, I started listening to 'Sentient' by Jackie Higgins which, perhaps unfortunately, is extremely Ed Yong has produced an immense book that delves into the mind-blowing world of senses across the animal kingdom - prepare to say "wow" out loud a lot as you read it。'An Immense World' is not a book you can read in a few sittings。 Yong actually expects quite a lot of his readers, which isn't a bad thing。 Every page is full of fascinating information。 By coincidence, shortly before starting Yong's book, I started listening to 'Sentient' by Jackie Higgins which, perhaps unfortunately, is extremely similar in theme to this book (they even cover a lot of the same scientists)。 However, I prefer Yong's book, because in true journalistic fashion the author physically meets with many of the scientists whose work he covers, and gets to meet quite a few of the animals too。 Which led to quite a few fun moments - a nice injection of brevity and illumination。 Another element that makes 'An Immense World' superior, in my view, is the analysis he frequently presents along the lines of "we never used to imagine this。。。 what else are we missing about this animal?"。 There's a sense of deep wonder and mystery。 For all my praise, I cannot give this book 5 stars。 The reason? THE FOOTNOTES。 OH MY GOD。 Most pages had at least one footnote, sometimes three or even four。 On some pages, the footnotes took up at least half the page。 I hate the idea of missing out on any information, so I read them all, but it really broke up the narrative for me。 Neither did it help that on my e-reader, a lot of the footnotes went over onto the next page。 Even more galling is that a lot of them could have easily been folded into the narrative。 What I suspect has happened is that Yong went over his word limit, so he simply moved some content to the footnotes。 The result is that it sadly diminished my reading experience。(With thanks to Random House and NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review) 。。。more
Nicola Michelle,
Having read Ed Yongs previous book (Life contains multitudes, a book I loved- as a microbiologist, it hooked me) I was so excited to read this new one: An immense world。 And it did not disappoint! It’s on such an interesting topic。 How the senses of animals give us a glimpse into a unseen realm, one of which we all perceive differently。 We live in a world that we all experience in a different way depending on our senses and the picture that builds around us。 This book introduces the concept of ‘ Having read Ed Yongs previous book (Life contains multitudes, a book I loved- as a microbiologist, it hooked me) I was so excited to read this new one: An immense world。 And it did not disappoint! It’s on such an interesting topic。 How the senses of animals give us a glimpse into a unseen realm, one of which we all perceive differently。 We live in a world that we all experience in a different way depending on our senses and the picture that builds around us。 This book introduces the concept of ‘Umwelten’ which I just loved。 So many things were new to me and I learnt so much。 If you’re expecting a cut and dry guide to the senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight, you won’t get that here! Instead? Ed Yong brings the senses to life。 He walks you through a word seen through the eyes of another。 From different species who perceive the world in extraordinary ways。 He takes you out of the human perspective, and into that of a different sense。 There was also a great addition in how the anthropocene (the current age of humans) and how we are changing our environment and how that’s related to affecting wildlife。 From the lights bamboozling senses to strange molecules and environmental disruptions and what that means for different species。 It’s written brilliantly and is so engaging。 Right when I picked it up and dived into the first few pages, I knew it was going to be a five star read。 It’s beautifully written and a perfect example of how non fictions should be。 It’s perfect for those who don’t have much background in science and is bound to engage and mystify you。 I devoured the pages and banked a lot of amazing knowledge along the way! Seriously couldn’t recommend enough。 Thank you to the author and publishers via NetGalley for this book in return for my honest thoughts and review。 。。。more