Listen to a sample
The Modern Bestiary
- Narrator
- Sarah Agha
- Publisher
- Headline
- Publish Date
- 15 September 2022
- Run Time
- 8 hours 44 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
From the familiar to the improbable, the gross to the endearing, The Modern Bestiary is a compendium of curious creatures. It includes both animals that have made headlines and those you've probably never heard of, such as skin-eating caecilians, harp sponges, or zombie worms - also known as bone-eating snot flowers.
Arranged by elements (Earth, Water, Air), The Modern Bestiary contains well-known species told from new, unexpected angles (rats that drive cars; fish that communicate by passing wind), as well as stranger and lesser-known creatures, including carnivorous mice that howl at the moon, cross-dressing cuttlefish, and antechinuses - small marsupials that literally mate themselves to death. Finally, there are the 'aliens on Earth' - the incredible, the surreal, the magical - such as tardigrades, tongue-eating lice and immortal jellyfish, creatures so astonishing that they make unicorns look rather commonplace.
Written by a zoologist with a flair for storytelling, this is a fascinating celebration of the animal kingdom.
(P) 2022 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
Critics Review
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Everyone who loves wildlife - especially fantastically weird and cringingly gross wildlife - should read this masterful book.
Mark Carwardine, author/presenter of Last Chance to See
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Even after half a century - and counting - as a professional zoologist, I encountered new and intriguing facts on every page, all conveyed in an easy, friendly style. If ever there was a book that highlighted the bewildering wonders of the natural world, and the need for their conservation, this is it.
Michael Brooke, author of Far from Land
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If you love animals, especially ones with unsavoury habits, this book is for you. Entries are crafted with affection, cast-iron scholarship and an unyielding dedication to exposing as much hilarious weirdness as the animal kingdom can offer. And that, it appears, is rather a lot. This is a book to adore.
Tom Moorhouse, author of Elegy for a River
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This modern bestiary is a magnificent miscellany that will amuse and amaze. From butterflies that make crocodiles cry and penis-fencing slugs to fish that live inside sea cucumbers' bottoms - the natural world is stranger than you could ever imagine.
George McGavin, entomologist, author and TV presenter
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The Modern Bestiary provides a fascinating, accessible and humorous insight into the wonders of the natural world. Packed with incredible facts and jaw-dropping insights into wildlife ecology, anatomy and behaviour, it is a genuine delight.
Amy Dickman, director of Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit
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Just when you thought the natural world couldn't get any more bizarre, you turn the page and learn about a small marsupial that mates itself to death. There's plenty inside this beautifully written book to make you laugh, squirm and - perhaps most importantly - appreciate how lucky we are to not have to live inside an anus.
Yussef Rafik, zoologist and wildlife TV presenter
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An illuminating compendium of some weird and wonderful creatures.
Observer
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'Addictive ... The Modern Bestiary offers excitement on a grand scale'
Times Literary Supplement
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Joanna Bagniewska, illustrated by Jennifer N. R. Smith
- Narrator
- Sarah Agha
- Duration
- 8 hours 44 minutes
- Release Date
- 15 September 2022
- ISBN
- 9781472289629
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Headline
- Genre
- Zoology and animal sciences, Animals and society / Animal rights - issues and debates, Research and information: general
Synopsis
A carefully curated collection of some of the world's most weird and wonderful animals, in a modern version of a medieval bestiaryFrom the familiar to the improbable, the gross to the endearing, The Modern Bestiary is a compendium of curious creatures. It includes both animals that have made headlines and those you've probably never heard of, such as skin-eating caecilians, harp sponges, or zombie worms - also known as bone-eating snot flowers. Arranged by elements (Earth, Water, Air), The Modern Bestiary contains well-known species told from new, unexpected angles (rats that drive cars; fish that communicate by passing wind), as well as stranger and lesser-known creatures, including carnivorous mice that howl at the moon, cross-dressing cuttlefish, and antechinuses - small marsupials that literally mate themselves to death. Finally, there are the 'aliens on Earth' - the incredible, the surreal, the magical - such as tardigrades, tongue-eating lice and immortal jellyfish, creatures so astonishing that they make unicorns look rather commonplace.Written by a zoologist with a flair for storytelling, this is a fascinating celebration of the animal kingdom.(P) 2022 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
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