Einzigartig und faszinierend
— Tabea Grzeszyk, Deutschlandradio Kultur, 25 November 2014
Eine große Liebeserklärung an die Evolution aller Lebewesen
— FixPoetry 15 November 2014
Hässlich-schöne Natur: Bibel des Grauens
— Hilmar Schmundt in Der Spiegel, 1 November 2014
Original et foisonnant
— 30 Million d'Amis, 20 October 2014
Ne cherchez pas de cadeau de Noël : ce livre est à offrir à tout le monde, à commencer par soi-même
— Roger-Pol Droit in Le Monde, 15 October 2014
Encyclopédique, écologique, inclassable, un livre que Borges aurait adoré
— Jean-Claude Perrier in Livres Hebdo, 3 October 2014
An unusual and charming book
— Richard Carter, April 2014
Funny and wise...ideas as beautifully wild as the animals themselves
— Hugh Warwick, Resurgence, March/April 2014
This extraordinary and exotic book is a hugely important work. Superficially it can be enjoyed as an exposé of the many weird and wonderful creatures we share our planet with. But it is also a profound journey, during which we have opportunities to speculate on the much bigger questions: the origins of life, the purpose of consciousness, the destiny of technology and the prospects for human existence beyond our biosphere.
— Matt Mellen, Positive News, 15 January 2014
Glorious
— Christopher Hirst, Independent on Sunday, 11 January 2014
[In this] great bestiary...growth, and astonishment, and wonder, and effervescence are wildly reconfigured as kinds of virtue
— Robert Macfarlane
A book that beautifully mingles the poetic and the scientific in shimmering prose that yet is packed full of detailed facts (and numbers)
— Athene Donald
Superb
— Siouxsie Wiles, New Zealand Listener
A prismatic attempt to enlarge how enlarge how we think about animals and ourselves
— James Bradley, Books of 2013, The Australian
A book of big ideas and carefully chosen details...The physical book is as beautiful as the language in which it is written.
— Pamela Toer, Shelf Awareness
Poetic non-fiction...a series of Montaignesque essays that celebrate the diversity of life while at the same time journeying through...human achievements – and [the] threats we make on the planet.
— Gavin Francis, The Scotsman Best Books of 2013
Anyone who has any sense of awe and love for life will love this book, and from both a literary and presentation point of view, it’s a book you’ll want to keep for the rest of your life.
— Steve Earles, Destructive Music
There is something lovely about a book that takes on so many disciplines and tackles them with confidence.
— Alok Jha, The Guardian, 23 November 2013
This extraordinary and exotic book is a hugely important work...a profound journey.
— EcoHustler, 13 November 2013
There are no words to describe how beautiful this volume is, or the feelings it evokes. Stunning.
— The Booksmith
Readers spanning the humanities and the sciences will treasure this luminous reimagining of the real.
— Jenny Jennings Foerst, American Scientist, November/December 2013
A glorious celebration of our extraordinary world...exuding wit and charm. — Alice Henchley blogs.nature.com, 25 October 2013
What stands out on every page is [the author's] tremendous, almost infectious joy...Eloquent as well as encyclopedic, witty and warm, he is the prefect companion for this tour of the strange and the beautiful.
— Louisa Fabiani, Times Literary Supplement, 25 October 2013
A brilliant, beautiful and often profound book.
— James Bradley, Sydney Review of Books, October 2013
Elegance to [the] writing which brings to mind the early wonder-inducing essays by Annie Dillard.
— Spirituality and Practice, October 2013
This is not just a beautiful book – it is an important one.
— David Evans, The Independent, October 2013
A lovely cultural history...[the] research is impressively deep.
— The Herald, 25 September 2013
Aesthetically pleasing and scientifically intriguing... an inspiring addition to any natural history collection.
— Amy Freeborn, Evolve, Summer 2013
You will see the world differently on closing this book. You will be more amazed. I don’t know what else one should even think of asking for from a book. — Weston Cutter, Corduroy Books, July 2013
A beautiful work that celebrates Earth’s extraordinary species.
— Stuart Pimm, Summer book recommendations, Nature, July 2013
Compulsively readable, both informative and thought provoking.
— Sadie Stein, Paris Review, 2013
Earlier reviews here
