Animal Weapons Audiobook By Douglas J. Emlen cover art

Animal Weapons

The Evolution of Battle

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Animal Weapons

By: Douglas J. Emlen
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
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In Animal Weapons, Doug 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. 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.

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.

©2014 Douglas J. Emlen (P)2014 Tantor Animals Biological Sciences Evolution Evolution & Genetics Outdoors & Nature Science Animal Science

Critic reviews

"Emlen's excellent writing will draw in readers intrigued by astonishingly powerful weapons, both in the wild and in the military, and how they have evolved owing to selective pressures." ( Library Journal)
Fascinating Blend • Seamless Storytelling • Fantastic Reader • Interesting Research • Engaging Information
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I loved this book. The mix of science and history, science and human nature and animal weapons was great!
Sean Runnette is fantastic as always.

Loved it!

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I can’t believe I found a book that combines my love for ecology and biology with military strategy and history. It’s absolutely fantastic and I learned so much. Thanks!

Fantastic

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I heard about this book on the Meat Eater Podcast and it sounded interesting based on the discussion about it. It was even better than expected. The author seamlessly weaves together so many interesting stories, history, facts, and research. He also makes an effort to drive home other important points that I personally appreciated. Definitely check this one out.

Very well written, I really enjoyed this book.

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Thank you for this work. It’s beautiful to me. Without this type of understanding we will never fully realize our mistakes. We have no natural weapon because we are human and we are human because we had no weapon, to wield/guide our fate. Nothing to focus on power or constrained to a reproductive algorithm.
Will read again.

What I’ve been looking for.

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The only thing I found a bit silly was that the author really kind of overdid it with his adjective usage throughout the book. But, that’s my only complaint. It was an interesting story that blended military history and animal weapons. Plus the reader of this book, Sean Runnette, is one of my favorites.

Excellent and easy read

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Enjoyed the book. Good tie-in’s between animal weapons and their sizes and how they change over time and the similarities to changes in military weapons over time. Good read.

Fun read

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Excellently written, brilliantly presented. Good book worth reading / listening too. I enjoyed the parallels between animal and human weapons.

Riveting

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loved this book. But the narrator has a problem pronouncing s's and they sound like "sh", which was annoying. The book deserves better!

Great book!

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This was not at all with I expected. However, I was not at all disappointed.

Not at all what I expected

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The nation could have been better and more inviting. A little to much back and forth and not enough story.

Wanted to like it. it didn't pull me in though.

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