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[bunrab]

	lj book reviews
	Timothy Verlyn Klinkenborg what are you reading?.
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Although there are lots of natural history notes in the book, its main point is not the actual observations of animals, but the ironic point that humans are nowhere near as well-adapted as we think we are, nor is our intelligence necessarily the best kind, especially for surviving in the world as it is. Perhaps Timothy's best line is, "I do not live in a prison of choices, like humans."

The style takes some getting used to, and so does Timothy's jaundiced view of us; if you believe that humans are the pinnacle of evolution (or worse yet, that we were specially created to be better than and to rule over all the other animals) then don't bother reading the book; it will only annoy you. On the other hand, if you are open to a very good attempt to convey as alien a viewpoint as you're likely to get from a creature on this planet, then you will find this fascinating.

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Also, books I've reviewed on Amazon.com lately:
The Price of Silence (mystery)
Nightlife (fantasy)
Nightingale's Lament: A Novel of the Nightside (fantasy)
Point of Honor (historical mystery)
The Trouble With Magic (mystery)
The Clan Corporate (The Merchant Princes, Book 3) (SF)
Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping (non-fiction; sociology)

As ever, if you would care to click the little buttons under my reviews and help keep me in the top-1000 reviewers category, I would be much obliged. It's my little bit of vanity.

Comments

[miz-geek.livejournal.com]

Hey, those really were helpful reviews! I guess I hadn't followed your links before, but I did this time, and I just had to thank you for writing reviews that are actually helpful in making the decision of whether or not to read a particular book.

Yay Bunrab!

[bunrab.livejournal.com]

Hey, useful is what I aim for; glad that I succeeded!