The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness By Sy Montgomery
An easy and enjoyable read. At its best I'd give it five stars but it is heavily autobiographical and at times too much so at least for me. A good book that offers a unique insight into octopuses. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness I first heard this book serialised on the radio and was captivated by it. I received it as a gift which I'm so pleased about as I would never have chosen it for myself and I shudder to think what I would have missed. The author skillfully pulls you into a magical world of marine animals and the dedicated experts who so lovingly care for them. In fact this is a book not only of great scientific value but also of love for your fellow beings. It can only enrich the reader and fill them with wonder. Absolutely brilliant. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness Very little discussion of octopuses, what they may or may not understand, or the philosophy/ethics of keeping them captive.Instead you have many chapters of the authors personal experience meeting them (which gets very repetitive you can only describe tentacles in so many ways). Lots of conjecture and flowery similes, and not much fact or deep thinking.It would make a great article but not enough for a full length book. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
This is a well written book exploring the world of octopuses, chiefly the giant pacific octopuses that live in the New England aquarium. The author takes us on a journey through her own discovery of these amazing animals she even learns to scuba dive in order to gain a deeper (pardon the pun) understanding of their world. It's not a purely technical book through as there are long asides about the people working in the aquarium and their relationships to the world around them.The book suffers from a degree of repetition:They lay strands of eggs that look like grains of riceShe is protecting all those eggs, each of which is only the size of a grain of riceOctopuses grow from the size of a grain of riceHatching from an egg the size of a grain of rice, one can grow both longer and heavier than a man in three years.Yeah, we get the grain of rice thing! Enough already!The book also strays into some slightly dodgy territory when the author religion and the soul of the octopus, and when she dips into anthropomorphism and tells us, with no evidence (because how could there be?) we knew in that moment that Octavia had not only remembered us and recognized us; she had wanted to touch us again. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness Muy bien The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness Es para un regalo. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness Fascinante!! The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness A great book if you want to learn loads about octopuses, and let's face it – who wouldn't, octopuses are cool. Actually, they are way cooler and stranger than I had ever imagined. The author weaves her tale about her encounters, not just with octopuses at the New England Aquarium in Boston, but their human carers, with references to scientific papers, classical text, and works of philosophy and psychology. It is a remarkably complete and wide ranging view of the octopus from just about every angle. And the informal conversational style makes it very readable too. It tries to get as close as t possible to trying to understand the emotional inner life of the octopus without anthropomorphising. I am not sure it entirely succeeds in this, there is plenty sentimentality, especially towards the end. For me, the big elephant in the room, lightly glossed over from time to time, was the whole issue around capturing such an intelligent animal from the wild and keeping it in a fairly barren and unstimulating aquarium (or pickle barrel!!). The octopuses are able to solve puzzles quickly and have complex social interactions with people, most of their time is spent in the unchanging environment of the aquarium. How this might affect them is difficult to say as the way they experience the world is quite different from us, but I felt this topic should have been tackled rather than brushed off.On the upside I now know for sure what the plural of octopus is and I am never likely to forget The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
Finalist for the National Book Award for NonfictionNew York Times BestsellerStarred Booklist and Library Journal Editors Spring PickA Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the YearOne of the Best Books of the Month on GoodreadsLibrary Journal Best Sci Tech Book of the YearAn American Library Association Notable Book of the Year Sy Montgomerys The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonalds H Is for Hawk did for raptors New Statesman UK One of the best science books of the year Science Friday NPR Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig this fascinatingtouchinginformativeentertainingDaily Beast book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopusa surprisingly complex intelligent and spirited creatureand the remarkable connections it makes with humansIn pursuit of the wild solitary predatory octopus popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism From New England auarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalitiesgentle Athena assertive Octavia curious Kali and joyful Karma Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple sleights of hand to get food Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs birds and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animals color changing techniues With her joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creaturesLibrary Journal Editors Spring Pick Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a uniue love story By turns funny entertaining touching and profound The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different mindsFinalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction * New York Times Bestseller * Starred Booklist and Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick * A Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year * One of the Best Books of the Month on Goodreads * Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year * An American Library Association Notable Book of the Year
“Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk did for raptors.” —New Statesman, UK
“One of the best science books of the year.” —Science Friday, NPR
Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this “fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining” (Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans.
In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food.
Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction * New York Times Bestseller * Starred Booklist and Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick * A Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year * One of the Best Books of the Month on Goodreads * Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year * An American Library Association Notable Book of the Year
“Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk did for raptors.” —New Statesman, UK
“One of the best science books of the year.” —Science Friday, NPR
Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this “fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining” (Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans.
In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food.
Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness