Audiobook6 hours
The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar: Evolution's Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems
Written by Matt Simon
Narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
From the man behind the popular Wired series "Absurd Creature of the Week," a fun, fascinating collection of unique animals and the unbelievable evolutionary traits they use to survive the most extreme scenarios From Wired columnist Matt Simon, The Wasp that Brainwashed the Caterpillar is an absurdist, comical romp through evolution's weirdest solutions to - appropriately enough - the hazards that evolution itself produces. Each original entry talks about a creature and its amazing adaptation, using Matt's signature blend of scientific accuracy and humor that has made his Wired column and accompanying web show so popular. The creatures themselves are absolutely mind-blowing, with zombie ants mind-controlled by a fungus; beautiful salamanders that can regenerate any part of their bodies including their brains; the mantis shrimp, which fires its club-like appendage so fast that the surrounding water becomes as hot as the surface of the sun; the Antechinus, whose runaway testosterone levels cause them to have so much sex during their three-week mating session that they bleed internally, go blind, and drop dead; and many more.
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Reviews for The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar
Rating: 4.0000000799999995 out of 5 stars
4/5
20 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Storytelling at its best
The author very craftily tells a complex scientific story of the hunter, the hunted and all in between.
It tells the story that consists history of the species and its mating, hunting and other mechanisms which are mostly unheard by the non-scientific reader.
At no point, this book was boring to read as the author has gone out of his way to make this story very reader-friendly with time to time, glib of humor and self-deprecation. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An excellent peek into the lives of many creatures.