The oceans are perhaps the last remaining source of profound mystery and discovery on Earth, and are as such of perennial fascination. Kraken introduces one of the most charismatic, monstrous, enigmatic, and curious inhabitants - the squid, which has supplanted the whale as the sea creature that now obsesses people's imaginations. The pages take the reader on a wild narrative ride through the world of squid science and adventure, along the way addressing some riddles about how the human brain works, what intelligence is, and what monsters lie in the deep. In addition to squid, both giant and otherwise, Kraken examines the equally enthralling other cephalopod species, the octopus and cuttlefish, and explores their otherworldly camouflage and bioluminescent abilities. Like Mary Roach, Mark Kurlanksy, and Susan Orlean, Wendy Williams weaves a rich narrative tapestry around her subject, drawing powerfully on the passions and discoveries of scientists, fisherman, and squid enthusiasts around the world. KRAKEN is a primarily a narrative book of pop-science, but there will be a few black and white illustrations throughout.
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Williams is a fine writer and takes us on an engaging and informative journey through the world of cephalopod science... --The Spectator
Tidbits of natural history...interwoven with a compelling historical narrative.... it's easy to see how cephalopods can mesmerise people. Reading Kraken could put you under that spell too. --New Scientist
...an absorbing, accessible portrait. --BBC Focus
Tidbits of natural history...interwoven with a compelling historical narrative.... it's easy to see how cephalopods can mesmerise people. Reading Kraken could put you under that spell too. --New Scientist
...an absorbing, accessible portrait. --BBC Focus
About the Author
Also by Wendy Williams: Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics, and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound Paeger / 978-1-58648-397-5 / GBP26.95 / May, 2007 / Hardcover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Curiosity Killed The Bookworm
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
A seriously fascinating read. If you like to pigeon hole things, I'd have to say this would be popular science. If you're a squid specialist, you'll probably know everything in this book, but as there aren't many of them in the world, lets assume you'll learn a lot. That's if you can keep an open mind about the interestingness of cephalopods.
What's a cephalopod I hear you ask? It's a family of spineless creatures that includes squid, octopus and cuttlefish. This book covers all three but does focus on squid, as the title suggests. You'll be amazed by the medical advances that have been made thanks to the research carried out on squid. I even learned a little about the human nervous system, although I did start to tune out a little when it got a bit complex.
On occasion the book branches out to cover other areas of behavioural research, such as a charming story of how the finch learns to sing. Another researcher, carries out an experiment with his pet dog and yellow snow.
There's a chapter on sex which ranges from the funny (an incident of jumping sperm in a classroom) to tragic (the story of the Great Pacific Octopus mother).
Whilst the writing style isn't going to win any literary awards, the subject matter more than makes up for anything lacking in the sentence structure. It is a non-fiction book after all and does well to be entertaining. I repeatedly found myself putting down my current fiction read so I could read a little bit more about squid.
On a side note, the picture captions were very basic. There was one photo near the beginning that just said "a squid". I think if you have picked up the book to read you'll know what one looks like and it should either have been expanded upon or left out. I do think the drawings are a nice addition and I just love the cover illustration. In general, I think more books need pictures!
If you enjoy watching natural history documentaries, especially those concerning marine wildlife, I would sincerely recommend this book.
I'm glad I've never really liked squid as a food as I would now feel guilty eating such interesting little, and not so little, creatures.
What's a cephalopod I hear you ask? It's a family of spineless creatures that includes squid, octopus and cuttlefish. This book covers all three but does focus on squid, as the title suggests. You'll be amazed by the medical advances that have been made thanks to the research carried out on squid. I even learned a little about the human nervous system, although I did start to tune out a little when it got a bit complex.
On occasion the book branches out to cover other areas of behavioural research, such as a charming story of how the finch learns to sing. Another researcher, carries out an experiment with his pet dog and yellow snow.
There's a chapter on sex which ranges from the funny (an incident of jumping sperm in a classroom) to tragic (the story of the Great Pacific Octopus mother).
Whilst the writing style isn't going to win any literary awards, the subject matter more than makes up for anything lacking in the sentence structure. It is a non-fiction book after all and does well to be entertaining. I repeatedly found myself putting down my current fiction read so I could read a little bit more about squid.
On a side note, the picture captions were very basic. There was one photo near the beginning that just said "a squid". I think if you have picked up the book to read you'll know what one looks like and it should either have been expanded upon or left out. I do think the drawings are a nice addition and I just love the cover illustration. In general, I think more books need pictures!
If you enjoy watching natural history documentaries, especially those concerning marine wildlife, I would sincerely recommend this book.
I'm glad I've never really liked squid as a food as I would now feel guilty eating such interesting little, and not so little, creatures.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By N. Turner
Format:Hardcover
This book just blew me away. The fascinating world of squid and other cephalopoda is opened up to the non biologist world in amazing detail. I've always been fascinated by these amazing creatures, but I learned so much more from reading this. The passion for the subject and the people involved comes through, the science is easy to digest (probably more easy to digest than the flesh of the giant squid anyway)
The book itself is beautiful too, rarely is so much thought put into the package.
The book itself is beautiful too, rarely is so much thought put into the package.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I just finished this book today, though I did begin skimming a little towards the end.
It came up in my Amazon recommendations for some reason, possibly due to my having purchased '20,000 leagues under the sea' a while ago. I thought it would make an unusual read, a bit of a swerve ball in my reading list.
The book itself is a superb edition. It is small enough to be carried around with you and the pages are of a high quality.
I did enjoy the book and certainly improved my knowledge of cephalopods! the science is written in an easily digestible way without missing any necessary information. Wendy Williams presented a subject that I essentially had no real interest in, in a way that was easily readable and left me feeling as though I had learned something.
The reason I have only rated 'Kraken' three stars is because I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed with a few things.
First and foremost: Lack of colour pictures. There is much written about the chromatophores and their ability to change colour - It would have been great to have some images displaying these colours and patterns. The pictures in the book are limited to small, low quality black and white prints slotted in amongst the paragraphs of texts. Given the subject of the book it strikes me the author missed a trick in not giving us some high quality images of these amazing creatures.
Furthermore, I assumed from the title that there would be slightly more made of the mythology of the Squid, maybe more anecdotes or old sea tales. As it is the book is relentlessly scientific, which I felt took some of the fun out of it. There wasn't any speculation of 'what else maybe lurking down there' or suchlike. Whilst the science of the cephalopods is fascinating enough, it did get a bit tiresome and as I've mentioned, I did start to skim a bit toward the end.
All in all a good read, very informative and suprising. I would just liked a few colour images and perhaps (rightly or wrongly) a little sensationalising!!
It came up in my Amazon recommendations for some reason, possibly due to my having purchased '20,000 leagues under the sea' a while ago. I thought it would make an unusual read, a bit of a swerve ball in my reading list.
The book itself is a superb edition. It is small enough to be carried around with you and the pages are of a high quality.
I did enjoy the book and certainly improved my knowledge of cephalopods! the science is written in an easily digestible way without missing any necessary information. Wendy Williams presented a subject that I essentially had no real interest in, in a way that was easily readable and left me feeling as though I had learned something.
The reason I have only rated 'Kraken' three stars is because I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed with a few things.
First and foremost: Lack of colour pictures. There is much written about the chromatophores and their ability to change colour - It would have been great to have some images displaying these colours and patterns. The pictures in the book are limited to small, low quality black and white prints slotted in amongst the paragraphs of texts. Given the subject of the book it strikes me the author missed a trick in not giving us some high quality images of these amazing creatures.
Furthermore, I assumed from the title that there would be slightly more made of the mythology of the Squid, maybe more anecdotes or old sea tales. As it is the book is relentlessly scientific, which I felt took some of the fun out of it. There wasn't any speculation of 'what else maybe lurking down there' or suchlike. Whilst the science of the cephalopods is fascinating enough, it did get a bit tiresome and as I've mentioned, I did start to skim a bit toward the end.
All in all a good read, very informative and suprising. I would just liked a few colour images and perhaps (rightly or wrongly) a little sensationalising!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A teuthological review
This book is a popular review of the latest science around the biology of the Cephalopoda, not just the squid of the title but also various octopus, cuttlefish and the Nautilus. Read more
Published 3 months ago by David J. Kelly
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good insight into what we know about squid
Firstly, as a cephalopod admirer, I was wanting this book to be easy and not overly scientific to read, and I can say now that it is a very easy read. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. Carlo Keshishian
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