Bloomsbury Eye of the Shoal: A Fishwatcher's Guide to Life, the Ocean and Everything
Product ID: 334510361
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'Scales's genuine appreciation and awe for fish are contagious.'- Science 'Delightful' - New Scientist Seventy per cent of the earth's surface is covered by water. This vast aquatic realm is inhabited by a multitude of strange creatures and reigning supreme among them are the fish. There are giants that live for centuries and thumb-sized tiddlers that survive only weeks; they can be pancake-flat or inflatable balloons; they can shout with colours or hide in plain sight, cheat and dance, remember and say sorry; some rarely budge while others travel the globe restlessly. And yet the mesmerising and complex lives of fish remain largely underrated and unseen, living hidden beneath the waterline, out of sight and out of mind. Helen Scales is our guide on an underwater journey, as we fathom the depths and watch these animals going about the glorious business of being fish. As well as the fish, we meet devoted fishwatchers past and present, from voodoo zombie potion hunters and scientists who taught fish how to walk to nonagenarian explorers of the deep sea. Woven throughout are vignettes of Helen's own aquatic explorations, from eerie nighttime dives with glowing fish and up-close encounters with giant manta rays, to floating in the middle of a swirling shoal being watched by thousands of inquisitive eyes. As well as being a rich and entertaining read, this book will inspire readers to think again about these animals and the seas they inhabit, and to go out and appreciate the wonders of fish, whether through the glass walls of an aquarium or, better still, by gazing into the fishes’ wild world and swimming through it. 'Engaging and informative' The Economist
| Dimensions | 13.08 x 2.16 x 19.69 cm |
| Edition | 1st |
| Isbn 10 | 1472936825 |
| Isbn 13 | 978-1472936820 |
| Item Weight | 227 g |
| Language | English |
| Print Length | 320 pages |
| Publication Date | 30 April 2020 |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Sigma |
User
Those Fish are Busy Down There
Enjoyable look into the world of fish, revealing amazing details of their capabilities, activities, and social interactions. Informative, accessible, and often amazing. Viewing the fish online while you read enhances the experience; the colors and physical characteristics come alive when matching the visual to the descriptive.
User
A superb book, brilliantly and engagingly written
This is a wonderful, entertaining, educational and amazing volume. Fishy facts are interwoven with global personal anecdotes from a person who has a passion for poisonous poisson. It has cautionary tales of the historical perils of over investing in fish publications, describes teaching fish to walk and extraterrestrial fish odysseys. There are glowing tales of glowing fish, stories of planetary disasters and fish ears. The illustrations are beautiful but I’d have loved a colour photograph or two to go with the colourful descriptions.I’ll never look at a herring the same way again and I’m wondering what happened to the dog who provided a bowl for “Eye of the shoal”. I’m sure he’s happy. Buy this book. You might not find Neno but you won’t be disappointed.
User
Great book!
It is a book very well written, in a nice passionate style. It is full of interesting fish-facts and I strongly recommend it to anyone that, like me, has a strong passion for everything under the water.
User
Einführung
Nachdem ich nun regelmäßig Schen interessiere ich mich auch für die Unterwasserwelt. Gutes Einsteigerwerkregt zum Nachdenken an.
User
Excellent study of things fishy
I’ve been a diver for quite a while and thought I knew a bit about fish; I didn’t. This book is entertainingly written whilst being very informative and even thought provoking. I had no idea about the sounds they make, their intelligence and memory abilities. The final chapter takes a balanced and intelligent look at how much we have recently realised, don't know and knotty ethical questions such as “do they feel pain?”Highly recommended for both divers and those who have never given fish a thought beyond the chip wrapper.
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