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Soul of an Octopus
- A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
- Narrated by: Sy Montgomery
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
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Publisher's summary
Sy Montgomery's popular 2011 Orion magazine piece, "Deep Intellect", about her friendship with a sensitive, sweet-natured octopus named Athena and the grief she felt at her death, went viral, indicating the widespread fascination with these mysterious, almost alien-like creatures. Since then Sy has practiced true immersion journalism, from New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, pursuing these wild, solitary shape-shifters.
Octopuses have varied personalities and intelligence they show in myriad ways: endless trickery to escape enclosures and get food; jetting water playfully to bounce objects like balls; and evading caretakers by using a scoop net as a trampoline and running around the floor on eight arms. But with a beak like a parrot, venom like a snake, and a tongue covered with teeth, how can such a being know anything? And what sort of thoughts could it think?
The intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees was only recently accepted by scientists, who now are establishing the intelligence of the octopus, watching them solve problems and deciphering the meaning of their color-changing camouflage techniques. Montgomery chronicles this growing appreciation of the octopus, but also tells a love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about consciousness and the meeting of two very different minds.
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Story
In the beginning was the loan, and the loan carried interest. For at least five millennia people have been borrowing and lending at interest. Yet as capitalism became established from the late Middle Ages onwards, denunciations of interest were tempered because interest was a necessary reward for lenders to part with their capital. And interest performs many other vital functions: it encourages people to save; enables them to place a value on precious assets, such as houses and all manner of financial securities; and allows us to price risk.
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Big landscape in time and subjects; Austrian view
- By Philo on 08-29-22
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The Good Good Pig
- The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood
- By: Sy Montgomery
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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A naturalist who spent months at a time living on her own among wild creatures in remote jungles, Sy Montgomery had always felt more comfortable with animals than with people. So she gladly opened her heart to a sick piglet who had been crowded away from nourishing meals by his stronger siblings. Yet Sy had no inkling that this piglet, later named Christopher Hogwood, would not only survive but flourish.
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Uplifting memoir of a pig + autobiography
- By Diana on 04-04-19
By: Sy Montgomery
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Seven Years in Tibet
- By: Heinrich Harrer, Richard Graves
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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A landmark in travel writing, this is the incredible true story of Heinrich Harrer’s escape across the Himalayas to Tibet, set against the backdrop of the Second World War. Heinrich Harrer, already one of the greatest mountaineers of his time, was climbing in the Himalayas when war broke out in Europe. He was imprisoned by the British in India but succeeded in escaping and fled to Tibet.
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An Adventure Classic
- By Jean on 01-29-16
By: Heinrich Harrer, and others
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Pale Blue Dot
- A Vision of the Human Future in Space
- By: Carl Sagan
- Narrated by: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In Cosmos, the late astronomer Carl Sagan cast his gaze over the magnificent mystery of the Universe and made it accessible to millions of people around the world. Now in this stunning sequel, Carl Sagan completes his revolutionary journey through space and time.
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Audio Quality Choices
- By JR on 05-30-17
By: Carl Sagan
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Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain
- By: Lisa Feldman Barrett
- Narrated by: Lisa Feldman Barrett
- Length: 3 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Have you ever wondered why you have a brain? Let renowned neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett demystify that big gray blob between your ears. In seven short essays (plus a bite-sized story about how brains evolved), this slim, entertaining, and accessible collection reveals mind-expanding lessons from the front lines of neuroscience research. You'll learn where brains came from, how they're structured (and why it matters), and how yours works in tandem with other brains to create everything you experience.
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slow reader & little bit of a Wokie
- By darren on 06-01-21
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The Experience Machine
- How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality
- By: Andy Clark
- Narrated by: Andy Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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For as long as we’ve studied human cognition, we’ve believed that our senses give us direct access to the world. What we see is what’s really there—or so the thinking goes. But new discoveries in neuroscience and psychology have turned this assumption on its head. What if rather than perceiving reality passively, your mind actively predicts it?
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About halfway through, it became propaganda
- By Jesse Helton on 08-13-23
By: Andy Clark
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The Uninhabitable Earth
- Life After Warming
- By: David Wallace-Wells
- Narrated by: David Wallace-Wells
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
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An "epoch-defining book" (The Guardian) and "this generation’s Silent Spring" (The Washington Post), The Uninhabitable Earth is both a travelogue of the near future and a meditation on how that future will look to those living through it - the ways that warming promises to transform global politics, the meaning of technology and nature in the modern world, the sustainability of capitalism and the trajectory of human progress. The Uninhabitable Earth is also an impassioned call to action.
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Don’t read if you have depressive tendencies.
- By Ricky on 03-17-19
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Breathe
- A Letter to My Sons
- By: Imani Perry
- Narrated by: Imani Perry
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Breathe explores the terror, grace, and beauty of coming of age as a Black person in contemporary America and what it means to parent our children in a persistently unjust world. Emotionally raw and deeply reflective, Imani Perry issues an unflinching challenge to society to see Black children as deserving of humanity. She admits fear and frustration for her African-American sons in a society that is increasingly racist and at times seems irredeemable. However, as a mother, feminist, writer, and intellectual, Perry offers an unfettered expression of love.
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Delightful peek into the heart & soul of a mother
- By Treesey on 10-08-19
By: Imani Perry
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A New World Begins
- The History of the French Revolution
- By: Jeremy D. Popkin
- Narrated by: Pete Cross, Jeremy D. Popkin
- Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The principles of the French Revolution remain the only possible basis for a just society - even if, after more than 200 years, they are more contested than ever before. In A New World Begins, Jeremy D. Popkin offers a riveting account of the revolution that puts the listener in the thick of the debates and the violence that led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a new society.
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Narration
- By Kindle Customer on 04-26-22
By: Jeremy D. Popkin
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Around the World in 80 Trains
- A 45,000-Mile Adventure
- By: Monisha Rajesh
- Narrated by: Monisha Rajesh
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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When Monisha Rajesh announced plans to circumnavigate the globe in 80 train journeys, she was met with wide-eyed disbelief. But it wasn’t long before she was carefully plotting a route that would cover 45,000 miles - almost twice the circumference of the earth - coasting along the world’s most remarkable railways; from the cloud-skimming heights of Tibet’s Qinghai railway to silk-sheeted splendour on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Packing up her rucksack - and her fiancé, Jem, Monisha embarks on an unforgettable adventure.
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Surprisingly negative
- By Monica Leo on 08-13-21
By: Monisha Rajesh
What listeners say about Soul of an Octopus
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kindle Customer
- 09-15-16
Good for the first 20% - Then disappointing
I was really excited about this when I saw it, because there aren't many that I know of about the intelligence of octopuses. The first 20% of the book contained some interesting situations and examples of octopus intelligence, but nothing I had not heard before. I was hoping to hear something really interesting and new. After that, it was riddled with facts about other animals more so than the octopus.
The hardest part about this audio book was that the author was the reader, and she really tries too hard to inject emotion into it. Over-emphasizing is the only way I can describe it. For me, it was super-distracting.
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59 people found this helpful
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- J Crane
- 03-14-23
I follow Octopus Instagrams Now
The author made octopus’ relatable and interesting to me for the first time ever in my life.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Keila
- 11-08-18
Informational and exciting.
Such a great story that delves into the life of octupuses. loved every minute of it!
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- J. Boyett-Romano
- 08-26-18
Nothing bad here
Beautiful book. You'd have to be incredibly jaded to find fault with this simple, elegant and insightful book.
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- William
- 08-25-18
Who knew
I learned so much. I will never look at octopuses. ( yes Octopuses) the same again. I learned a lot. We have such an amazing planet.
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Who would think octopus this interesting?
Narration is clear.
Content is fascinating. Octopuses are wondrous creature. I will now forever accord them more respect.
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- Karen
- 05-06-17
I never expected it would make me cry
Any additional comments?
I was expecting some interesting science writing, and while there are plenty of interesting facts about octopuses, this is really a memoir about "octopuses I have known and loved." I came to love them too.
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- Carol Olson
- 11-24-19
wonderful
Loved this book!!! I was riveted by the stories of Octavia and Kali .. highly recommend
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- Jerry
- 01-20-17
Listening is the best way to savor this true story.
I enjoyed going slowly through the wonders of this book. An ideal audible choice. If you love the ocean and its creatures, you are in for a treat.
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- Lexie36
- 02-18-17
Terrific
I rarely read non-fiction, but this was so good. I learned so much, and felt the author's emotions throughout. I highly recommend this.
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