Jonathan Balcombe is the director of animal sentience at the Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy and the author of four books, including Second Nature and Pleasurable Kingdom. A popular commentator, he has appeared on The Diane Rehm Show, the BBC, and the National Geographic Channel, and in several documentaries, and is a contributor of features and opinions to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Nature, and other publications. He lives in Maryland. Find him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter, and visit his website.
Longlisted for the 2017 PEN / E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing
Award One of the 10 Best Popular Science Books of 2016: Biological
Sciences, Forbes One of the Week's Best Science Picks, Nature A
"Must Read" Book, The Sunday Times (London) One of the Best Books
of the Year, National Post "Latest Reads to Pique Your Curiosity,"
The Toronto Star "Numerous books have shown me how utterly ignorant
I am about most creatures I share this planet with, but none
humbled me more than What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe."
--Cornelia Funke, The Observer "We Buddhists consider all animals,
including fish, as sentient beings who have feelings of joy and
pain just as we humans do. We also believe that they have all been
kind to us as our mothers many times in the past, and are deserving
of our compassion. Therefore, we try to help them in whatever way
we can and at least avoid doing them harm. In What A Fish Knows,
Jonathan Balcombe vividly shows that fish have feelings and deserve
consideration and protection like other sentient beings. I hope
reading it will help people become more aware of the benefits of
vegetarianism and the need to treat animals with respect." --The
Dalai Lama "An extended exploration of the world from a piscine
perspective . . . Balcombe makes a persuasive case that what fish
know is quite a lot." --Elizabeth Kolbert, The New York Review of
Books "[An] exhaustively researched and elegantly written argument
for the moral claims of ichthyofauna." --Nathan Heller, The New
Yorker
"What a Fish Knows will leave you humbled, thrilled, and floored.
Jonathan Balcombe delivers a revelation on every page, presenting
jaw-dropping studies and stories that should reshape our
understanding of, and compassion for, some of the most diverse and
successful animals who have ever lived. After reading this, you
will never be able to deny that fishes love their lives as we love
ours, and that they, too, are vividly emotional, intelligent, and
conscious. Bravo!" --Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an
Octopus, a National Book Award finalist "Balcombe builds a
persuasive argument. Writing in a straightforward, somewhat breezy
style, he makes his case partly through a compendium of fascinating
anecdotes and scientific findings that illustrate the complexity
and creativity of fish behavior . . . Dozens of startling
revelations emerge." --Alan de Queiroz, The Wall Street Journal
"One of the most enlightening books I have ever read . . . What a
Fish Knows will change the way you view fishes and their world."
--Dr. Mariappan Jawaharlal, The Huffington Post "Balcombe has
touched a nerve in me." --Ren�e E. D'Aoust, Los Angeles Review of
Books "Beautiful . . . we're much more similar to fish than meets
the eye." --David Gruber, Ideas.TED.com ("What Should You Read This
Summer?") "As ethologist Jonathan Balcombe notes in this engrossing
study, breakthroughs are revealing sophisticated piscine
behaviours. Balcombe glides from perception and cognition to tool
use, pausing at marvels such as ocular migration in flounders and
the capacity of the frillfin goby (Bathygobius soporator) to
memorize the topography of the intertidal zone." --Barbara Kiser,
Nature
"Balcombe covers the waterfront, so to speak, from fish cognition
and perception to their social structures and breeding practices,
all the while drawing on a dizzying array of experiments and
studies. In the hands of a lesser writer, the sheer weight of
material could have overburdened the reader. But Balcombe's prose
is lively and clear, showcasing his gift for pithy sentences."
--Eugene Linden, The American Scholar "What a Fish Knows bubbles
with astounding fish facts." --Kate Horowitz, Mental Floss "[An]
eye-opening look at the lives of fish." --Christopher Hart, The
Times (London) "What a Fish Knows seeks to acquaint us with the
'fabulous diversity' of sentient beings in our waters." --Sarah
Murdoch, The Toronto Star
"The simple fact that fish live in an alien environment has created
an information gap that scientists have been hard-pressed to
bridge. Until now. Jonathan Balcombe, a professor of animal
studies, fills the void in his new book What a Fish Knows, which
argues we're not as different from our water-brethren as you'd
think." --Joselin Linder, New York Post "What a Fish Knows . . .
certainly left this piscivorous angler queasy about picking up his
rod. There are other ways of interacting with these marvelous
animals . . . Perhaps we should treat our aquatic kin with a bit
more respect." --Ben Goldfarb, Hakai magazine "This is a book full
of wonders." --David Profumo, Literary Review
"With the vivacious energy of a cracking good storyteller, Balcombe
draws deeply from scientific studies and his own experience with
fish to introduce readers to them as sentient creatures that live
full lives governed by cognition and perception . . . Balcombe
makes a convincing case that fish possess minds and memories, are
capable of planning and organizing, and cooperate with one another
in webs of social relationships." --Publishers Weekly "[A]
sparkling exposition on 'our underwater cousins' . . . [and] a
compelling pitch for greatly expanding fish conservation." --Ray
Olson, Booklist "[Balcombe] offers an enjoyable, surprising and
sometimes gruesome exploration of the world of fish, written with
clarity and humor and grounded in many scientific studies . . . The
breadth and depth of his research and his enthusiastic storytelling
may permanently alter how [readers] look at a pet goldfish or a can
of sardines." --Sara Catterall, Shelf Awareness "Balcombe's
breathtaking book should instill a sense of humility and enormous
wonder and awe at the rest of creation." --David Suzuki, scientist,
environmentalist, and broadcaster "Outstanding. This excellent book
brings fishes into their proper and well-deserved perspective."
--Dave DeWitt, food historian "I thought I knew a lot about fishes.
Then I read What a Fish Knows. And now I know a lot about fishes!
Stunning in the way it reveals so many astonishing things about the
fishes who populate planet Earth in their trillions, this book is
sure to 'deepen' your appreciation for our fin-bearing co-voyagers,
the bright strangers whose world we share." --Carl Safina, author
of Beyond Words "Based on the latest scientific research, What a
Fish Knows offers an eye-opening tour of the social, mental, and
emotional lives of fishes. Who knew fishes use tools, appreciate
music, fall for the same optical illusions we do, and engage in
both cooperative hunting and some very kinky sex? Jonathan
Balcombe's book is popular science writing at its best. It will
spin your head around." --Hal Herzog, author of Some We Love, Some
We Hate, Some We Eat "What a Fish Knows is a delightful and
fascinating book that should be read by all who have dismissed
fishes, especially the smaller denizens of the ocean, as utterly
simple, primitive creatures. Jonathan Balcombe's lively
descriptions of fish behavior are backed by solid science. What
Carl Safina's Beyond Words did for elephants, wolves, and orcas,
Balcombe's book does for fishes. It is a terrific read." --Wendy
Benchley, ocean conservationist and co-founder of the Peter
Benchley Ocean Awards "Fishes are greatly misunderstood and
grievously maligned. Now, in What a Fish Knows, Jonathan Balcombe
uses the latest science to provide a comprehensive picture of just
who fishes are. You will learn that fishes have distinct
personalities, experience a wide range of emotions, form intricate
social relationships, and are wonderful parents. Indeed, this
forward-looking and long-overdue book is an integral part of
reconnecting with the fascinating animals with whom we share our
magnificent planet." --Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives
of Animals and Rewilding Our Hearts "What a Fish Knows is the best
book on fishes I have ever read. Brimming with engrossing anecdotes
and humor, Jonathan Balcombe's inspiring treatise takes the reader
on a fascinating and deeply moving journey into the lives of
fishes. Balcombe's eloquent, persuasive, highly readable tour de
force has a single, luminous message: Fishes deserve more respect,
care, and protection." --Chris Palmer, author of Shooting in the
Wild and Confessions of a Wildlife Filmmaker
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