Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle
    Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle
    Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle
    Audiobook7 hours

    Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle

    Written by Douglas J. Emlen

    Narrated by Sean Runnette

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateNov 11, 2014
    ISBN9781494572570
    Author

    Douglas J. Emlen

    Douglas Emlen is a Professor of Biology at the University of Montana. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of the U. S. Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering. His co-authored textbook Evolution: Making Sense of Life (with science writer Carl Zimmer; Macmillan Learning, 2019) is currently adopted at more than 240 colleges and universities, and his book Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle (Henry Holt, 2014) was selected as the Phi Beta Kappa Science Book of the Year in 2015. He starred in the NOVA documentary Extreme Animal Weapons, and he lives in Montana with his family (and a whole bunch of beetles).

    Related to Animal Weapons

    Related audiobooks

    Biology For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Power Of Poo

      Nov 17, 2022

      The Power Of Poo
      6 min read

    • Article

      Why We’re Afraid of Bats

      Oct 5, 2020

      Why We’re Afraid of Bats
      8 min read

    • Article

      Lean On Me

      Mar 7, 2024

      Lean On Me
      2 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Feb 8, 2024

      Q&A
      5 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Oct 19, 2023

      Q&A
      5 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      May 7, 2020

      Charles Darwin travelled the world, but also spent countless hours observing nature in Britain (see p12). One common wildflower in his garden and local woods long perplexed him. Why did primroses appear in two quite different forms? So-called ‘pin’ t

      6 min read

    • Article

      Country Diary

      Mar 31, 2021

      Country Diary
      2 min read

    • Article

      20 Spider Myths Busted

      Oct 27, 2022

      20 Spider Myths Busted
      9 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Jun 3, 2021

      Q&A
      6 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Nov 16, 2023

      Q&A
      6 min read

    • Article

      Narwhal

      May 30, 2023

      Narwhal
      1 min read

    • Article

      Tales Of The unexpected

      Apr 4, 2024

      Tales Of The unexpected
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Incredible, Indelible Shed

      May 1, 2019

      The Incredible, Indelible Shed
      9 min read

    • Article

      Welcome To Octo-world

      May 8, 2023

      Welcome To Octo-world
      5 min read

    • Article

      Nature

      Sep 20, 2023

      MARK COCKER Cape, 352pp, £20 Mark Cocker is one of the most acclaimed of British nature writers. In One Midsummer's Day, he takes a single day in his English garden to take the reader back to the origins of the world and the vast interconnectedness o

      4 min read

    • Article

      If Sharks Had Arms

      Nov 24, 2020

      If Sharks Had Arms
      3 min read

    • Article

      High Five

      Oct 1, 2022

      High Five
      1 min read

    • Article

      Beauties And The Beasts

      May 26, 2022

      ON THE WALL OF MY STUDY hangs a dusty print of Mr Fox’s Hunt Breakfast on Christmas Day by the illustrator Harry Neilson. Mr Fox is a cheery old boy, dressed in hunting fig, with more than a hint of the Terry Thomas about him. His foxy guests sit alo

      5 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Nov 19, 2020

      Q&A
      6 min read

    • Article

      Braindump

      Jun 8, 2023

      Braindump
      7 min read

    • Article

      At Home

      Apr 9, 2020

      At Home
      5 min read

    • Article

      Who Are You Calling Prickly?

      Sep 13, 2023

      Who Are You Calling Prickly?
      6 min read

    • Article

      Adapt Or Die

      Mar 12, 2020

      Adapt Or Die
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Animal Weapons

    4/5

    43 ratings10 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Emlen is a very engaging writer whose enthusiasm is contagious as he describes an amazing variety of animals and their weapons and behaviors. The information that animals develop larger and larger weapons for defense and mate competition and that such weapons are expensive to grow is not new but Emlen’s examples include many fascinating details. There are bizarre insects, which sometimes look like alien life forms, whose battles are almost invariably won by the male with the longer eyestalks. (p. 94) While many animals rely on size and weapons to attract and guard a mate others employ guile to achieve their goals. The Australian cuttlefish is one of the craftiest animals in this regard. A small male shows a female-like appearance while he carefully approaches a larger male and the female they both want and sidles between them. Only then does he show his bright courting colors, but only on the half of his body facing the female, all the while maintaining his false feminine appearance on the half of his body facing the dominant male. (p. 153)Emlen includes tales of some of his adventures while conducting research in various exotic locales such as Costa Rica where in the evening, he and his companions, using the phosphorescence in the water, “choreographed neon paintings in the sand with our tracks.” (p. 134) Such reminiscences of his field work in various jungles are just as interesting as his descriptions of the strange insects he was studying. His tone switches abruptly in the last section as he recounts the history of various human weapons and the political brinkmanship that played out during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. As he noted on page 143: “In one of nature’s more amusing paradoxes, the most extreme weapons are also the least likely to be deployed in pitched battle. . . . the mere presence of these weapons is sufficient to dissuade all but the biggest competitors.” He is concerned that this no longer holds true for us. All our military spending on conventional weapons no longer acts as a deterrent to the use of nuclear and biologic weapons which are becoming increasingly affordable for smaller nations. Animals and insects wiesly avoid fights they don’t think they can win but what happens when a small group of people possesses a weapon equal to that of a superpower? Even if a few elk or crabs or ants suddenly had extreme weapons that made them the equal of the largest, strongest, healthiest male they might encounter, the resulting battle would not result in the loss of nearly all life on the planet.Most of the line drawings by Tuss add to the text and appear very realistic — the porcupine almost looks as if it could amble off the page and the insects are properly creepy. The only drawing that detracts is the saber tooth cat on the cover and again on page 32. The perspective makes the cat appear distorted due to the foreshortening effect. Over thirty pages of End notes give additional comments and recommendations for further reading if your curiosity has been piqued. This was an ARC copy so it did not contain the sixteen pages of color pictures which will be included in the finished book. An index would be helpful and I hope one will be included in the final version.
    • 4/5
      An interesting book that looks at the development of weapons from a biological perspective. Sites parallels using examples from the animal kingdom compared with human military history. Not something I had considered previously. I liked the book.
    • 4/5
      Postulates and defends three criteria for arms races to escalate towards (proportionately) massive/extreme weapons: 1) Competition: for breeding rights - the longer it takes a female, or a male in rare cases, to incubate and raise the next generation then recoup - the more badass one has to be to prevail; 2) Economic Defensibility: if prime food and nesting materials exist in a limited area as opposed to being spread out over a large territory, it is advantageous to be able to first take and then protect a portion of this ideal terrain since the females are sure to come flocking; 3) Duels: if defensibility of this ideal terrain lends itself to one-on-one competition (i.e. a tunnel) then massive weapons are baller mainly because of their strong deterrence abilities (can't breed if you're dead) and of course their advantages during fights. Parallels are drawn bw examples throughout the animal kingdom and human military history. Also discusses the termination of an arms race: eventually the immense resources demanded by weaponry can't be supported and/or massive weaponry no longer ensures the advantage. My favorite example being the "sneaky male dung beetle" who burrows into the dominate male's tunnel via a side entrance whilst he's busy defending it from traditionally competitive males and goes to town. Delightful sketches throughout the book and a gloomy prophecy for humanity (weapons of mass destruction change the game, to no one's long term benefit).
    • 4/5
      I received this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers. Overall, I thought this book was excellent. Emlen had well thought-out points and was able to support all of the factors that precede and enable an arms race in the animal kingdom. It went a lot deeper into natural selection in regards to animal weapon development than I had considered before. It was fascinating to learn about some long extinct animals (hello saber-tooth tiger on the cover). I think some of the ties were a little stretched in the human section, however. I think Emlen would have been better served having a case study and making his points within the case study. While he does write about The Cold War, it's within the last 5-10 pages of the book. It does end in a rather depressing fashion about how humanity isn't likely to survive another arms race because of how The Cold War made biological weapons and weapons of mass destruction inexpensive and easy to obtain for smaller nations. Sadly, I believe his hypothesis is likely to be true.
    • 5/5
      Animal Weaponry is the perfect blend of animal design, defensive strategy and examples of humans using the same concepts from the animal world for our own benefits. This book combines science, strategy and societal actions into an interesting read about how animals and humans protect themselves, attract mates and attempt to dominate others. Animal Weaponry gives detailed information that can't be found anywhere else!
    • 4/5
      I found Animal Weapons: The evolution of Battle by Douglas J. EmLen to be an enjoyable romp through the intricacies of evolution. It parallels the biological evolution of animal weaponry both offensive and defensive with the cultural evolution of human weaponry. While I don't fully agree with some of the parallels, I appreciated the ideas they provoked. As mentioned it is easy to read and not dry like similar books. Which may lend to my one criticism in that it is an overview focusing on one or two examples for each big idea leaving me wanting a little more. Still the book has given me new examples to throw out at my science class as we discuss evolution.
    • 4/5
      Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle by Douglas J. Emlen explores the similarities in the way that animals evolve their different weapons and the way that human weapons seem to evolve. While I'm not sure that all of his parallels in evolution are true, this book presents the reader with a lot of questions to consider. It is a very thought-provoking book and one that has kept me pondering long after I finished the book.
    • 5/5
      4.5 StarsA thought-provoking compilation of animal weapons with excellent human (especially military) comparisons from different time periods as well as different continents. The author includes many entertaining personal stories in each section and there's plenty of illustrations. The writing flows so easily, it's almost like fiction. Recommended.GoodReads FirstReads Giveaway
    • 4/5
      In this volume, Douglas Emlen offers an intriguing view into the evolution of animal weaponry in nature. Rather than providing a highly technical account of the evolution of specific structures, Emlen offers an overview of the evolutionary processes that is detailed enough to hold the attention of someone versed in scientific theory, but still easily accessible to the casual reader. One of key point in this book is the parallel between the evolution of weaponry in the animal kingdom and the development of weapons for warfare by people. Emlen does a convincing job of illustrating the similarities between the two topics. That being said, while I did find the examples of human development of arms and armor interesting, they, unfortunately, didn’t hold the same interest as the defensive and offensive mechanisms and structures of the animal kingdom described in the rest of the book. The final section of the book disposes with discussion of the animal kingdom entirely, focusing instead on weapons of mass destruction. While interesting and, as noted by a previous reviewer, depressing, a discussion on nuclear war felt like an odd way to end the volume. It, perhaps, would have been better to end on a broader comparison of behavior between people and the remainder of the animal kingdom, perhaps with a section on something like ant warfare.
    • 4/5
      Emlen, a biologist who studies beetles, examines the evolution of natural animal weaponry, mostly the kinds of weapons animals use against other members of their own kind, such as the antlers of deer. It's not particularly detailed or technical -- no descriptions of exactly what's happening on the genetic level, for instance -- but it is a pretty good high-level overview, explaining the evolutionary pressures that shape animal weapons in a way that makes sense. It covers such topics as why some animals develop elaborate horns or antlers while others don't, how evolutionary arms races can lead to some pretty extreme results, and how those arms races can end or even reverse themselves. There are lots of interesting examples, complete with excellent black-and-white drawings of many of the animals described.Emlen also draws comparisons between the evolution of animal weaponry and that of human weapons technology. A few of these seem like a bit of a stretch, but most of them are apt and interesting. The last few chapters, in which the focus shifts all the way over to human weapons, do feel kind of extraneous, however, although perhaps worth it for the good (if highly depressing) points about weapons of mass destruction he makes at the end.