Sentient

Discover the astonishing sensory powers of the animal kingdom and what they reveal about the human experience in this spellbinding work of popular science.

In Sentient, Jackie Higgins assembles a menagerie of zoological creatures – from land, air, sea and all four corners of the globe – to understand what it means to be human.

Meet the peacock mantis shrimp, capable of throwing a punch that can fracture aquarium walls; the great grey owl, which can hear many decibels lower than the human ear; and the star-nosed mole, whose miraculous nose allows it to catch worms in as little as 120 milliseconds. Sentient also introduces readers to the four-eyed spookfish and its dark vision, the vampire bat and its remarkable powers of touch, as well as the common octopus, the Goliath catfish and the duck-billed platypus.

Each of these zoological marvels illustrates the surprising sensory powers that lie within us, enabling us to engage with the world in ways we never knew possible. Through lyrical prose and lucid explanations, Higgins makes the wonders of animal biology accessible to all while casting fresh light on the human experience.

'Spellbinding . . . More than any other book, [Sentient] has made me think differently about the world this year.' – Financial Times Best Books of the Year