Summary: The
story behind the stunning, extreme weapons we see in the animal world--teeth
and horns and claws--and what they can tell us about the way humans develop and
use arms and other weapons
In Animal
Weapons, Doug Emlen takes us outside the lab and deep into the forests
and jungles where he’s been studying animal weapons in nature for years, 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 we encounter on these pages are, we learn that
similar factors set their evolution in motion. Emlen uses these patterns to
draw parallels to the way we humans develop and employ our own weapons, and
have since battle began. He 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. With
stunning black and white drawings and gorgeous color illustrations of these
concepts at work, 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.
Angie's Comments: A fascinating look into why animals develop
weapons such as fangs or horns. I couldn’t believe a good, interesting book
could be written on this topic, but Douglas J. Emlen proved me wrong! Using anecdotes,
information from his studies and from other researchers, Emlen creates an
engaging book about animal weapons. He also discusses times when weapons have
appeared then disappeared from animals. One of the best parts of this book is
that Emlen extrapolates from the animal weapons to human-made weapons. It is an
interesting glimpse into the development of naval warfare, the Cold War, and
other human-made weapons.
I recommend this book if you are
interested in biology, evolution, or military history.
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