

Sinossi
In questo libro ci sono sette storie. Possono essere lette come sette indagini poliziesche che hanno per oggetto un animale. L’animale in questione non è necessariamente dei più esotici: si inizia con le talpe dal muso stellato, ma poi si trovano anche serpenti marini, toporagni, anguille elettriche e vespe. C’è sempre un mistero da risolvere, e c’è l’avventura della sua ingegnosa soluzione, che prende il lettore pagina dopo pagina, come accade in un poliziesco di qualità.
Ma è solo quando si giunge alla soluzione del caso che si insinua davvero la meraviglia. Certi animali, anche comuni, visti da vicino mostrano adattamenti e strategie di vita che hanno del miracoloso. L’evoluzione ha scolpito col tempo comportamenti che lasciano letteralmente a bocca aperta, e il gusto della loro scoperta è impagabile. Di storia in storia, non solo impariamo dettagli stupefacenti sul mondo naturale, ma apprezziamo anche in maniera vivida l’eleganza e la creatività del metodo sperimentale.
Kenneth Catania rende vivo e palpabile sotto i nostri occhi quel guizzo creativo che è sempre necessario mettere in campo se si vuole risolvere un enigma scientifico, perché la scienza è innanzitutto divertente e appagante, e il mondo naturale che svela è un vero miracolo di inventiva, una fonte continua di stupore e meraviglia.
- ISBN: 8833936422
- Casa Editrice: Bollati Boringhieri
- Pagine: 256
Recensioni
Das Buch bietet einen interessanten Einblick in die Feldforschung bzw. die typische Arbeit eines "Wald- und Wiesenbiologen". Viel mehr kann ich leider nicht sagen, da ich das Hörbuch gehört habe und der Sprecher absolut furchtbar war. Die Betonung war absolut fehl am Platze, es hat sich eher angehör Leggi tutto
This is an interesting book and there is a bit of "the author as a young scientist" memoir wrapped into the first half, which is fine. The narrator (I listened to e-audio, thanks Digital Johnson County!) spoke very slowly and with super irritating inflection patterns. I ended up listening at 1.5x spe Leggi tutto
This one did not meet my expectations, unfortunatley ... Author Kenneth C. Catania is a biologist and neuroscientist teaching and conducting research at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, according to his Wikipedia page . Kenneth Catania : I found much of the writing in Great Adaptati
Fascinating read. Catania doesn't just describe a couple wacky animal adapations; he recounts his personal role in uncovering some unique features of some very wacky creatures. The level of detail is great, though some parts might go over the head of a reader with little scientific knowledge. There
This is a great book full of really interesting details about the animals covered. It's written in a biographical story fashion that makes it quite engaging. Who wouldn't want to hear about a dollhouse for cockroaches after all? And, best of all (at least to me), it really does get into some cool sc Leggi tutto
So interesting! I found myself saying "wow!" a lot. Catania does an incredible job of explaining the technical details of these adaptations in a very accessible way, while also sharing his awe and wonder about the natural world. And, the adaptations are super cool, but it is also fascinating to walk Leggi tutto
An entertaining and fascinating semi-memoir examination of interesting sensory adaptations evolved in Star-nosed Moles, electric Eels, shrews, earth-worms etc.
This, THIS is exactly what popular science writing should be! Catania's seven chapters each start with his own questions and curiosity about the animal world, then tell stories of his research and experiments, always packed with humor, clever pop culture analogies, and his constant passion for his w Leggi tutto
This is the author’s first foray into books and he knew what he was doing! Catania clearly has a delightfully quirky personality and knows a thing about good books so is evident by how this book was organized and written. Catania is a biologist who studies animal behavior and designs experiments to l Leggi tutto
This might be the best science book I've ever read. As one of the reviewers says on the dust jacket, "Never have I learned so much from a book that's so enjoyable to read." In surprisingly engaging prose, Catania explores some of the incredible physical and behavioral adaptations of (what I now know Leggi tutto
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