A smorgasbord of the senses from a professor of animal behaviour: how they work, why they're there, and what they mean for both human and animal lives.
Our senses are at the heart of how we navigate the world. Whittling this high-powered and deliciously varied palette down to just five does a great disservice to the sensory experience, Sensational argues. In fact, we could have as many as fifty-three - and they could explain such mysteries as why we kiss, in what way music is a form of emotional currency, and how a dairy-rich diet strained initial Euro-Japanese relations.
Ashley Ward embarks on a sensory expedition to answer all these questions and more. Why do women have a better sense of smell than men? Has the iPhone changed how we touch? Does the Danube really look blue when you're in love?
From the power of cuddling to what canine bowel movements can tell us about geomagnetic fields, Sensational is a surprising look at how our brains shape the way we interpret the world.
Praise for The Social Lives of Animals'
'Very striking ... Ward has a good eye for
details ... he writes vividly' - Sunday Times
'Any writer who can evoke the existential sadness of a lonely cockroach, or make krill thrilling, or describe a snorkelling colleague being engulfed in a "gargantuan cetacean bum detonation" is a real gift to science communication ... thought-provoking' - Guardian
'A great antidote to the dog-eat-dog view of nature that we grew up with. Ashley Ward takes the reader on a personal journey of discovery to make clear that animals often depend on cooperation for survival'