Sentient by Jackie Higgins

Sentient assembles a menagerie of zoological creatures - from land, air, sea and all four corners of the globe - to understand what it means to be human. Through their eyes, ears, skins, tongues and noses, the furred, finned and feathered reveal how we sense and make sense of the world, as well as the untold scientific revolution stirring in the field of human perception.

The harlequin mantis shrimp can throw a punch that can fracture aquarium walls but, more importantly, it has the ability to see a vast range of colours. The ears of the great grey owl have such unparalleled range and sensitivity that they can hear twenty decibels lower than the human ear. The star-nosed mole barely fills a human hand, seldom ventures above ground and poses little threat unless you are an earthworm, but its miraculous nose allows it to catch those worms at astonishing speed - as little as one hundred and twenty milliseconds. Here, too, we meet the four-eyed spookfish and its dark vision; the vampire bat and its remarkable powers of touch; the bloodhound and its hundreds of millions of scent receptors, as well as the bar-tailed godwit, the common octopus, giant peacocks, cheetahs and golden orb-weaving spiders. Each of these extraordinary creatures illustrates the sensory powers that lie dormant within us.

In this captivating book, Jackie Higgins explores this evolutionary heritage and, in doing so, enables us to subconsciously engage with the world in ways we never knew possible.

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What a fascinating read! All the animals you never heard of, right alongside ones you've heard of but didn't realise could do that. It's amazing how scientists are able to apply things they learn from animal senses and organs to understand human senses and organs. Several times they make leaps I ever would have imagined, but they make perfect sense the way they're written.

The language does occasionally lapse towards the scientific, but mostly this is a chatty, fun, inofrmative book. Chapters build logically on each other; someone mentioned in passing might be more important in a later chapter, or studies conducted in an early chapter might be mentioned as the basis of something else later. It's really interesting how interconnected the world of science is, and I was impressed several times at how freely scientists share information and help each other out.

I really enjoyed reading this; I've probably learned a few things and it was certainly a fun ride. This will do well.

I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.