Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle

Author(s): Douglas J. Emlen; David J. Tuss (Illustrator)

HISTORY

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.


Product Information

""Animal Weapons" is a fascinating look at the extremes of animal appendages and behaviors."--"Shelf Awareness""Outstanding . . . Emlen's book on animal warfare reveals a world far more fascinating and intriguing than one we could summon with our imagination."--"The Seattle Times ""Through personal stories, historical narrative and detailed sketches, biologist Emlen charts the evolution of animal weapons so bizarre and gargantuan, it's amazing they even exist." --"Discover ""Emlen's excellent writing will draw in readers intrigued by astonishingly powerful weapons, both in the wild and in the military, and how they have evolved owing to selective pressures."--"Library Journal "(starred)"Absorbing . . . Throughout the book, Emlen's demonstrations of the many parallels between human and animal weapons are fascinating, even when the possibilities are frightening . . . Emlen is not a hurried or simplistic storyteller. He is a writer of nuance, and he traveled to many different environments to get the story."--"Kirkus ""Emlen infuses scientific explanations with entertaining anecdotes from his field research at the University of Montana. Each step of the way, he provides parallels with human weapon development and design, from ancient civilizations to weapons of mass destruction, and the evolutionary process of animals.  While his conclusions about the human arms race are dire, it is his description of animal weaponry in action and in evolution that will captivate." --"Publishers Weekly""A great deal of the living world really is red in tooth and claw. That important principle has needed a real biologist to illustrate and explain it, now accomplished dramatically by Emlen's "Animal Weapons" "The Evolution of Battle."" --Edward O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist, Harvard University"One of our leading evolutionary biologists, Doug Emlen, delves into the deep meaning of entities as different as beetle horns and medieval castles, to take the reader on a joyous ride of discovery about nature and the human experience. "Animal Weapons "is an authoritative, knowledgeable, and epic narrative of one of the dominant themes of life on earth, including our own. Emlen's curiosity, passion, and storytelling prowess make this magisterial little volume leap from the page."--Neil Shubin, author of "Your Inner Fish""This is a great read not only for the stories of conflicts and weaponry in a diversity of animals, but also for the history of human weaponry, and the highly relevant message about arms races the author reads from both."--Bernd Heinrich, author of "Winter World "and "Why We Run"""Animal Weapons" is must read, especially those of us who are interested and concerned about human weapons development. As Douglas Emlen shows definitively, arms races are not something we as a species invented, but instead the most natural thing in the world."--Robert L. O'Connell, author of "The Ghosts of Cannae" and "Fierce Patriot""Doug Emlen has done a superb job of bringing together the stories of animal and human weapons. He makes the biology behind the evolution of weapons understandable for this soldier and engineer, and convincingly illustrates the human animal's problems in controlling or avoiding catastrophe in the age of weapons of mass destruction." --Lieutenant General John Myers

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, multiple research awards from the National Science Foundation, including their five-year CAREER award, and a Young Investigator Prize and the E. O. Wilson Naturalist Award from the American Society of Naturalists. His research has been featured in outlets including the "New York Times "and National Public Radio's "Fresh Air." He is a professor at the University of Montana.David J. Tuss is a graphic artist who specializes in blending technical accuracy with vivid, lifelike compositions. His work is also featured in textbooks, scientific articles, and technical biology papers. He lives in Helena, Montana, where he works as a wilderness ranger, natural science illustrator, and public school science and art teacher.

General Fields

  • : 9780805094503
  • : Henry Holt & Company
  • : Henry Holt & Company
  • : 0.54
  • : 01 November 2014
  • : 236mm X 155mm X 30mm
  • : United States
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Douglas J. Emlen; David J. Tuss (Illustrator)
  • : Hardback
  • : David Tuss
  • : English
  • : 591.47
  • : 288
  • : illustrations