Beastly
Inventions: A Surprising Investigation Into How Smart Animals Really Are – Jean
Craighead George (1970)
As a person who loves amassing vast
amounts of data in my head, books like this one are such a pleasure. While some books explore very specific topics
in depth, others, such as Ms. George’s cool book, Beastly Inventions, act as a
compendium of so many interesting things that they lead an inquisitive person
into ever expanding and fruitful areas of inquiry. When it comes to a book that details a wide
array of the most amazing feats our animal brethren are capable of, I have
found none better than this one. One can
tell feel the true love and admiration for all these creatures that Ms. George
shares through the descriptions and anecdotes in this book.
Like all great loves in life, Ms.
George’s adoration of the natural world came to her via her father, a
biologist, who would never pass up an opportunity to teach his daughter and
sons interesting details and facts about nearly every plant and animal they
would come across. (My love of books and
reading came directly from highly literate parents who stocked our house with
all manner of amazing things to read, from children’s books to smart magazines
like Smithsonian or National Geographic, to encyclopedias, and who took us on
regular trips to the public library, my favorite place on Earth - RXTT) What began as simple curiosity grew into a
love of nature and a desire to explore all its quirks and oddities.
Jean Craighead George begins this
book with a chapter discussing the new technological developments that allow us
humans to explore nature in ways unimaginable just a few decades earlier. As this book was published in 1970, there are
a few items that are out of date, but the information is still very good. Other chapters then explore the ways the
animals have shaped and formed their bodies, the manner in which they travel
through the world around them, the unusual parenting techniques, the intricate
and highly varied manner of creating homes and nesting sites, and the
specialized ways that animals have created to gather food and sustenance. Each chapter is chock full of great examples
and items that just blow away the old idea that animals are boring and that we
are the best thing around.
While humans have good to excellent
sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch senses, there is no sense that is not
overwhelmingly greater in some animal or other.
Some animals cannot see very well, but can smell in ways that seem to us
to be magic. Others have the ability to
see in parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that humans can only see with
specialized equipment, while yet other animals have senses that in o way relate
to our day to day existence as humans.
One of the oddest “senses” found by biologists is the ability in many
rodents to detect radiation itself, avoiding a source of x-rays that, to our
knowledge, they should have no way of “sensing!” Amazing stuff. From the lowliest worm to the most advanced
primates, each animal and its unusual powers amaze and intrigue.
One of the best uses for a book such
as this, is to shine a light on areas of study that I have been remiss in. For instance, reading a couple or paragraphs
about the manner in which some animals reproduce made me want to go dig deeper
and study the animals closer. Books such
as this are amazing in that you can go back to them and find new avenues for
exploration and new fields to study. I would
love to find a companion book to this one detailing the amazing discoveries
made from 1970 to the present regarding the wondrous capabilities of our fellow
animals on this Earth we all call home.
Anyone who doubts the magnificence of the natural world, or who has a
young adult that is curious about biology and animals should get this book. It is a shame that it is out of print. Hunt it down at your local library. You will not be disappointed.
(This book can be purchased here: AMAZON )
(This book can be purchased here: AMAZON )
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