Review by Booklist Review
Howard is a British naturalist, journalist, and blogger. His first book is an entertaining collection of essays on the theme of animal sex and reproduction. Although there have long been scientific observations about courtship, mating, and sex roles among creatures large and small, writers have been guarded and clinical in their descriptions of animal sex acts. Many were careful not to assign any emotions or conscious decision making to any species other than humans. Instincts were thought to be in control of animal behavior. Howard is from a new generation that sees more passion and variety in animal sexual behaviors and recognizes females as more in control of mate choosing than old-school scientists would admit. Raised on Far Side cartoons and essays by Stephen Jay Gould, Howard has written with Bill Bryson-like wit about the sex life of pandas, dinosaurs, frogs, flamingos, hedgehogs, insects, and other creatures. Readers may laugh while they learn.--Roche, Rick Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In the spirit of enthusiastic animal sex tour books like Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice for All Creation, wildlife blogger Howard's debut puts aside sensational curiosities like supposedly giant dinosaur penises, instead taking great pleasure in appreciating reproductive strategies of everyday creatures such as ducks, dogs, mites, even the Edinburgh Zoo's pandas, whose failed mating attempts were ridiculed in the press. Howard's story is as much anthropology as zoology, but not because he draws lessons for human sexual behavior from the rest of Earth's inhabitants. He is at least as interested in documenting the specialized thinking and the personality quirks of his fellow naturalists, scientists, and animal breeders whose deep, narrow focus on specific species makes them perfect experts on animal mating strategies, and in communicating his own delight in chasing down evidence directly, such as when hearing the sound of his spring pond coming to life sparks an obsession with seeing frogs have sex. Though there's little that groundbreaking in Howard's scientific content, the infectious optimism of his fascination with an Earth full of beings doing exactly what they need to to go on gives the reader a comforting sense that, in the grand scheme of things, everything is right with the world. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Starred Review. In his debut book, Howard (zoologist, nature writer, Guardian; Independent; BBC Wildlife Magazine) takes the reader on a romp through the sex lives of animals. The author's self-deprecating humor combines with the tantalizing subject matter to great effect, creating an entertaining read that is also an eye-opening education. He covers the erotic adventures of backyard animals such as frogs, ducks, and hedgehogs, the details of racehorse breeding, and the debauchery of dinosaurs. The publicized inability of the Edinburgh Zoo to get its pandas to reproduce is a recurring theme throughout the work, as Howard roots for the pandas and defends them against newspaper headlines that, in his view, blame unfairly the creatures for a lack of libido. Offering a peek into the mechanics of intercourse in different species and the ways that humans intervene in the reproduction of endangered animals, the author also discusses the evolutionary incentives for sex as well as seemingly unlikely reproductive strategies, including monogamy, masturbation, and asexual reproduction. VERDICT Howard's wit and clear explanations of the birds and the bees make this volume ideal for all readers. An excellent pick for those who enjoyed Mary Roach's Bonk. Laurie Neuerburg, Victoria Coll.-Univ. of Houston Lib. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Not everything you wanted to know about sex, but a fair compendium of the varieties of sexual behavior exhibited by all creatures, great and small.Indignant at the media's twice-told tales of spider cannibalism, whale penis sizes or zoo pandas' sex problems, zoologist and nature writer Howard set out to tell it like it is. Sex has been around for eons; fossils provide evidence of its evolutionary importance. Readers may not remember all the details, but some things will sticke.g., mallards' "coercive copulation," which involves the drake's corkscrew-shaped penis inserted into the female's counter-corkscrew-shaped vagina, which has side pockets to trap his unwanted sperm. She can widen the path to admit sperm from high-quality drakes, which she rates by the yellowness of their beaks, a sign of a healthy immune system. Then there's the toilet brush-shaped dragonfly organ, used to expunge a competitor's sperm, the slime trail that lures a slug to its mate and the mate-guarding of male mites. Reptilian behavior includes precoital iguana masturbation, thought to prep the male so as not to waste time with the female and risk attack by rivals or predators. But masturbation for pleasure is common, writes Howard, as is homosexuality, bisexuality (bonobos), and even necrophilia and child sexual abuse. The author's survey includes conservators' work to preserve species, such as a rare spider threatened by habitat loss. While the information is always interesting, the text reads like a set of essays without an organizing principle. There's also a bit too much gushing and self-consciousness, as, for example, when Howard vents frustration at not catching a species in the act. He also admits to romanticism in a chapter about monogamy and love apparent in some birds and mammals. However, he is adamant that we just don't know enough about humans to declare what is the norm. Howard demonstrates that there is much to appreciate about the rites and rituals that govern the when, where and how of species perpetuation. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
