The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery

The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness

Sy Montgomery
272 pages
Atria Books
Apr 2016
Outdoors & Nature WSBN
3
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Another <i>New York Times</i> bestseller from the author of <i>The Good Good Pig</i>, this &quot;fascinating ... touching ... informative ... entertaining&quot; (<i>Daily Beast</i>) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus - a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature - and the remarkable connections it makes with humans.<br><br>In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities - gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple &quot;sleights of hand&quot; to get food.<br> <br>Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal's color-changing techniques. With her &quot;joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures&quot; (<i>Library Journal</i> Editors' Spring Pick) , Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, <i>The Soul of an Octopus </i>reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.
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My friend, the octopus

I have every confidence that author Sy Montgomery will be impressed to see a review of her book, "The Soul of an Octopus," begin with a hockey reference. Yes, hockey. At some point in Detroit's hockey history, someone had the bright idea to throw an octopus on the ice at the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Apparently the connection was that it took eight wins to earn the championship at that point in National Hockey League history, and an octopus had eight legs. It takes 16 wins to win the Stanley Cup now, but the tradition continues in Detroit. You can count on the fish stores being raided for octopuses before the game. Before reading this book, I thought of this tradition as something resembling harmless fun - part of Detroit's rich hockey heritage. Now, having read Montgomery's latest effort, I'm much more likely to be upset that such a noble, interesting creature is sacrificed in such a demeaning manner. Such is the effect of "The Soul of an Octopus," a frequently fascinating story about one of our friends from the sea. Most of this book centers on Montgomery's quest to get to know octopuses (and no, it's not octopi) better. Toward that goal, she frequently drove 2.5 hours from central, rural New Hampshire to Boston once a week (and 2.5 hours back) to an aquarium, where the caretakers let her get up close and personal with these creatures best known for having eight arms. After a while, Montgomery finds out just how complex these creatures can be. An octopus, it turns out, can solve simple puzzles. Enthusiastically greet people. Be bored. Love to play. Have a memory. This is one (relatively) smart mollusk. Who knew? And we have no idea just how clever an octopus really is, as we scratch the surface of the subject. The co-stars of the story are those who work at the New England Aquarium in Boston. They come across here as kind and loving individuals when it comes to the facility's 'residents." When something goes wrong for whatever reason, they seem to take...

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About this book
Pages 272
Publisher Atria Books
Published 2016
Readers 3