Animal Weapons, Douglas J. Emlen
Animal Weapons, Douglas J. Emlen
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Animal Weapons
The Evolution of Battle

Author: Douglas J. Emlen

Narrator: Sean Runnette

Unabridged: 7 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/11/2014


Synopsis

In Animal Weapons, Douglas J. Emlen takes us outside the lab and deep into the forests and jungles to explain the processes behind the most intriguing and curious examples of extreme animal weapons—fish with mouths larger than their bodies and bugs whose heads are so packed with muscle they don’t have room for eyes.

As singular and strange as some of the weapons are, we learn that similar factors set their evolution in motion. Emlen looks at everything, from our armor and camouflage to the evolution of the rifle and the structures human populations have built across different regions and eras to protect their homes and communities.

Animal Weapons brings us the complete story of how weapons reach their most outsized, dramatic potential, and what the results we witness in the animal world can tell us about our own relationship with weapons of all kinds.

About Douglas J. Emlen

Douglas J. Emlen is the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering from the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House. He has also earned multiple research awards from the National Science Foundation, including their five-year CAREER award. His research has been featured in such outlets as the New York Times. Douglas is a professor at the University of Montana.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tom

The best thing I can say about this book is that when I took it home my two-year-old went wild for the cover art, so we sat down to look at the photo insert and the high quality sketches included throughout then rushed to our local library so he could check out a million books on bugs, which was his......more

Goodreads review by Jim

I've always wondered at some of the extreme weapons that some animals mounted & this popular science book answered the question admirably. Sexual selection can be confusing since it doesn't always make sense. Emlen not only explains it well, but sorts out just how it leads to extremes both through i......more

I received this book for free from the GoodReads first reads program in exchange for an honest review. Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle by Douglas J. Emlen is a delightful enlightening read. Douglas J. Emlen focuses on many unusual animals, rather than focusing upon the typical big cats, wi......more

Goodreads review by Daniel

This is an engaging pop sci look at the evolution of morphologies and behaviors that influence conflict in animals. Why can animals display such starting traits of aggression? Why do some species have such stunning features like the teeth of sharks, the tusks of an elephant, or the elaborate, varied......more