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What a Fish Knows
- The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
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Publisher's summary
An underwater exploration that overturns myths about fishes and reveals their complex lives, from tool use to social behavior.
There are more than 30,000 species of fish - more than all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians combined. But for all their breathtaking diversity and beauty, we rarely consider how fish think, feel, and behave.
In What a Fish Knows, ethologist Jonathan Balcombe takes us under the sea and to the other side of the aquarium glass to reveal what fishes can do, how they do it, and why. Introducing the latest revelations in animal behavior and biology, Balcombe upends our assumptions about fish, exposing them not as unfeeling, dead-eyed creatures but as sentient, aware, social - even Machiavellian. They conduct elaborate courtship rituals and develop lifelong bonds with shoalmates. They also plan, hunt cooperatively, use tools, punish wrongdoers, curry favor, and deceive one another. Fish possess sophisticated senses that rival our own. The reef-dwelling damselfish identifies its brethren by face patterns visible only in ultraviolet light, and some species communicate among themselves in murky waters using electric signals.
Highlighting these breakthrough discoveries and others from his own encounters with fish, Balcombe inspires a more enlightened appraisal of marine life. An illuminating journey into the world of underwater science, What a Fish Knows will forever change your view of our aquatic cousins - your pet goldfish included.
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Nature's Nether Regions
- What the Sex Lives of Bugs, Birds, and Beasts Tell Us About Evolution, Biodiversity, and Ourselves
- By: Menno Schithuizen
- Narrated by: Steven Menasche
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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The story of evolution as you’ve never heard it before. What’s the easiest way to tell species apart? Check their genitals. Researching private parts was long considered taboo, but scientists are now beginning to understand that the wild diversity of sex organs across species can tell us a lot about evolution. Menno Schilthuizen invites listeners to join him as he uncovers the ways the shapes and functions of genitalia have been molded by complex Darwinian struggles.
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A New Favorite
- By S. Pepper on 05-15-15
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Becoming Wild
- How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace
- By: Carl Safina
- Narrated by: Carl Safina
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Some people insist that culture is strictly a human feat. What are they afraid of? This book looks into three cultures of other-than-human beings in some of Earth's remaining wild places. It shows how if you're a sperm whale, a scarlet macaw, or a chimpanzee, you too experience your life with the understanding that you are an individual in a particular community. You too are who you are not by genes alone; your culture is a second form of inheritance. And your culture, too, changes and evolves.
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It all sinks in over the story—highly recommend
- By Knitting Fisherman on 06-13-20
By: Carl Safina
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Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You
- A Lively Tour Through the Dark Side of the Natural World
- By: Dan Riskin
- Narrated by: Dan Riskin
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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It may be a wonderful world, but as Dan Riskin explains, it's also a dangerous, disturbing, and disgusting one. At every turn, it seems, living things are trying to eat us, poison us, use our bodies as their homes, or have us spread their eggs. In Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You, Riskin is our guide through the natural world at its most gloriously ruthless. Using the seven deadly sins as a road map, Riskin offers dozens of jaw-dropping examples that illuminate how brutal nature can truly be.
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Just a bunch of random animal behaviors.
- By Goddess on 05-18-23
By: Dan Riskin
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Cat Sense
- How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet
- By: John Bradshaw
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Cats have been popular household pets for thousands of years, and their numbers only continue to rise. Today there are three cats for every dog on the planet, and yet cats remain more mysterious, even to their most adoring owners. In Cat Sense, renowned anthrozoologist John Bradshaw takes us further into the mind of the domestic cat than ever before, using cutting-edge scientific research to explain the true nature - and needs - of our feline friends. Tracing the cat’s evolution from solitary hunter to domesticated companion, Bradshaw shows that cats remain independent, predatory, and wary of social contact.
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Not what I had expected
- By Terry on 03-11-14
By: John Bradshaw
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The Wonder of Birds
- What They Tell Us About Ourselves, the World, and a Better Future
- By: Jim Robbins
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Birds, Jim Robbins posits, are our most vital connection to nature. They compel us to look to the skies, both literally and metaphorically, draw us out into nature to seek their beauty, and let us experience vicariously what it is like to be weightless. Birds have helped us in so many of our human endeavors: learning to fly, providing clothing and food, and helping us better understand the human brain and body.
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Stories about birds with something for everyone
- By D on 07-24-17
By: Jim Robbins
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Parasite Rex
- Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures
- By: Carl Zimmer
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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For centuries, parasites have lived in nightmares, horror stories, and the darkest shadows of science. In Parasite Rex, Carl Zimmer takes listeners on a fantastic voyage into the secret universe of these extraordinary life forms that are not only among the most highly evolved on Earth, but make up the majority of life's diversity. Traveling from the steamy jungles of Costa Rica to the parasite-riddled war zone of southern Sudan, Zimmer introduces an array of amazing creatures that invade their hosts, prey on them from within, and control their behavior.
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Fascinating and Horrible
- By David A on 10-09-18
By: Carl Zimmer
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The Ancestor's Tale
- A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution
- By: Richard Dawkins
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Abridged
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In The Ancestor's Tale, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins offers a masterwork: an exhilarating reverse tour through evolution, from present-day humans back to the microbial beginnings of life four billion years ago. Throughout the journey, Dawkins spins entertaining, insightful stories and sheds light on topics such as speciation, sexual selection, and extinction. The Ancestor's Tale is at once an essential education in evolutionary theory and riveting in its telling.
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Please do an unabridged version!
- By MovieExpertise on 09-29-16
By: Richard Dawkins
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Intelligence in Nature
- An Inquiry into Knowledge
- By: Jeremy Narby
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 4 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Anthropologist Jeremy Narby has altered how we understand the Shamanic cultures and traditions that have undergone a worldwide revival in recent years. Now, in one of his most extraordinary journeys, Narby travels the globe - from the Amazon Basin to the Far East - to probe what traditional healers and pioneering researchers understand about the intelligence present in all forms of life. Intelligence in Nature presents overwhelming illustrative evidence that independent intelligence is not unique to humanity alone.
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Favorite part was untrue :(
- By Al A'scgh on 08-13-18
By: Jeremy Narby
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Paleontology
- A Brief History of Life
- By: Ian Tattersall
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Ian Tattersall, a highly esteemed figure in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, and paleontology, leads a fascinating tour of the history of life and the evolution of human beings. Starting at the very beginning, Tattersall examines patterns of change in the biosphere over time, and the correlations of biological events with physical changes in the Earth's environment.
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great summary of where we are with understanding
- By david on 06-25-11
By: Ian Tattersall
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The Age of Empathy
- Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society
- By: Frans de Waal
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Is it really human nature to stab one another in the back in our climb up the corporate ladder? Competitive, selfish behavior is often explained away as instinctive, thanks to evolution and "survival of the fittest", but in fact, humans are equally hard-wired for empathy. Using research from the fields of anthropology, psychology, animal behavior, and neuroscience, Frans de Waal brilliantly argues that humans are group animals.
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A Lot Of Things In Common With Our Animal Friends!
- By James on 08-14-11
By: Frans de Waal
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Parasite Rex
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For centuries, parasites have lived in nightmares, horror stories, and the darkest shadows of science. In Parasite Rex, Carl Zimmer takes listeners on a fantastic voyage into the secret universe of these extraordinary life forms that are not only among the most highly evolved on Earth, but make up the majority of life's diversity. Traveling from the steamy jungles of Costa Rica to the parasite-riddled war zone of southern Sudan, Zimmer introduces an array of amazing creatures that invade their hosts, prey on them from within, and control their behavior.
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Favorite part was untrue :(
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If you’ve never read about the wonder of animal sensory capabilities this is for you
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What listeners say about What a Fish Knows
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- William
- 07-06-20
You'll never look at fish the same
We don’t usually think of fish the same way that we do as other animals, maybe partly because they are so otherworldly. We drown in water. They drown out of water. We are anchored to the surface we walk on, they are in a more 3D world. We know the voice of land animals, but fish seem to have no voice. And, they can’t be very smart. This book upends a lot that you thought you knew about fish. It’s divided into sections, “What a Fish Perceives,” “What a Fish Feels,” “What a Fish Thinks,” “What a Fish Knows,” and “How a Fish Breeds. You’ll be reminded that fish have no eyelids and other physical details. You’ll discover that 60% of the vertebrates in this world are fish and they are far more diverse than all the other vertebrates. But, you’ll also find that fish see things differently than us, being able to see colors that are beyond our spectrum. Some fish have eyes that move separately and brains that process what both see separately. They are able to feel pain, but are also able to feel joy through play. They are smarter than you think and are able to find their way through mazes and solve problems better than chimpanzees. They can learn and memorize reefs and their environment. They can analyze and find solutions and some even use tools. And, their bodies can do things that sound magical, such as the flounder who, as it comes of age, moves one eye from one side of his body all the way around to the other side, sometimes in the course of a day. Some fish can change from male to female over the course of a few days to adapt to their environment. Some fish are both male and female. Some, including the flounder can change their skin color and patterns to match their environment (just Google “flounder on a checkerboard” for an example). This book was fascinating and illustrated the creativity of the creation. The only negative, at least sort of negative, was that the author had an ax to grind as a vocal supporter of animal rights and he pushes that a little too much instead of letting us appreciate the wonders of fish and come to our own conclusions. But, maybe that is a petty way of looking at the book. In any case, you’ll have fun learning about fish.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Robert Schmidt
- 12-15-18
Convinced me that fish are sentient
Wonderfully put together.
Author makes very convenient arguments with studies to back it up
Doesn’t read like a dry, clinical research paper
Author does a fantastic job with delivery.
Going to have my daughter, a frequent fisherman, to read with a warning: “You may not be as enthusiastic about fishing after listening to this book”.
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- proffvolunteer
- 10-08-19
surprisingly interesting
who would have thought a book about fish would be so interesting. it covers everything from how fish evolved to are they sentient beings to the ecologic perils fish face. A good listen
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jessica
- 04-16-21
A New View of Fish
This book really made me see fish in an entirely different light. Backed by many research studies, the author indicates that fish can feel pain, have a much better memory and intelligence than they are given credit for, have individual personalities, and may even be capable of complex emotions! High school students should read this and maybe the way we treat fish can be reconsidered. I will certainly look at my aquarium denizens differently! Definitely worth a credit.
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- Bonny
- 08-29-16
Fish Know Much More Than We Thought.
I'm not sure I can completely buy into the subtitle of this book: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins, but Jonathan Balcombe gives the reader plenty of reasons why What a Fish Knows is much more than we have previously thought. From frillfins exhibiting that they are able to form memories of tide pool layouts and recall them to avoid predators, to tool use by the orange-dotted tusk fish, and so many more species, the author presents a myriad of elegantly designed studies and interesting evidence to show that we have been underestimating fish. He examines their senses, intelligence, family and social lives, along with many reasons why we should no longer think of them as “just fish”. Their ability to receive and perceive visual information from above the water level and below it at the same time is fascinating to me, and something I would like to better understand on a neurological level, along with the lateral lines of the bony fish that allow them to sense water pressure. Fish comprise approximately 60% of all vertebrates, and there are more than 30,000 species of fish, and Balcombe argues that we should consider all of them as worthy and sentient individuals. The chapter on piscine feelings (From Stress to Joy) began to sound a bit unscientific to me, but the author presents intriguing information in the rest of the book in such an entertaining way that I will most likely re-read this wonderful book.
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44 people found this helpful
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- Dr. Joe de Beauchamp
- 01-06-19
Fishes
Enjoyed this book on all about fish. Keeping tropical fish, this book helped me better understand my fish friends.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jeremy R.
- 09-02-22
Plenty of Fish In The Sea…
So, my adventure through another scientific romp through the watery world. I seriously cannot escape science without things being billions of years old on a planet that isn’t really old at all even say still kinda young all things considered. I get that I need to learn everything there is to know about The Oceans but I still cannot abide by the widely accepted beliefs but know that I also have beliefs which counter interact with all scientists chatting on and on about evolution a now debunked theory that is just that. A Theory. Anyways the deep dive into the lives of several fish species.
I found it odd the narrator and ergo the author describes fish groups or a bunch as fishes. Sure each usage is acceptable but what I also know is fish is a universal term like all fish are fish akin to how you describe deer, moose, elk and various animals with no right or wrong way to say the plural word for fish. Fishes is acceptable but fish is also acceptable.
One of these days I am going to be an Ocean Expert or even a Master. However my differing ideas about the Oceanic world have me concerned that my beliefs could be accepted by the scientific community or laughed out of the scientific community as evolution and creation paint fish in different light. Carbon dating is not an accurate source of determining the time and age of things. Probability of this being new science fact not fiction changes the historical and biological world. Book wasn’t bad just I wish science would have a serious chat about the probability or possibly of creative design. I wish to approach marine biology different than everybody a bold crusade in my eyes.
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- Va kindlefan#23
- 10-24-16
Fish have feelings too 101
I'm really glad to have this book as part of my animal advocacy tool box. At first I found the audio on the performance not too good as all the s sounds were really harsh. However, that seemed to correct later in the piece. I feel like it was a technical issue, not a narrator issue.
I would recommend this to someone who is interested in the subject.
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6 people found this helpful
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- tetrahymena
- 06-17-18
Great Book on the Lives of Fish
On the whole, I loved this book. It provides great insight and information on fish in a very user-friendly manner. It blends together scientific information on the lives of fish with a true feeling for the organisms. I had hoped for more on how behaviours relate to their environment, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn more about their cognitive and emotional lives. The author makes no secret about his passion for these animals, and he makes a passionate argument for their inclusion in our moral circle. My only criticism is that at times, that passion becomes overwhelming, blurring what should be a clear boundary between science and emotion-based arguments.
Strongly recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about fish in general, or who want to understand them in relation to their other vertebrate cousins, including us.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Nikki
- 12-28-18
Compassion compass for Fish in 2019
This book will be cherished some many more times as I begin to grasp the immense amount of new found and pleasantly sewn together knowledge. My children will be part of the next generation to further their persons and perhaps, save our union on the world.
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