Eye of the Shoal

A Fishwatcher's Guide to Life, the Ocean and Everything

Helen Scales

$24.99

Paperback

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QTY:

English

Bloomsbury Sigma
02 July 2020

Popular science; Marine biology; Fishes (ichthyology); Wildlife: aquatic creatures

'Scales's genuine appreciation and awe for fish are contagious.'-

Science

'Delightful' - New Scientist

Seventy per cent of the earth's surface is covered by water. This vast aquatic realm is inhabited by a multitude of strange creatures and reigning supreme among them are the fish.

There are giants that live for centuries and thumb-sized tiddlers that survive only weeks; they can be pancake-flat or inflatable balloons; they can shout with colours or hide in plain sight, cheat and dance, remember and say sorry; some rarely budge while others travel the globe restlessly. And yet the mesmerising and complex lives of fish remain largely underrated and unseen, living hidden beneath the waterline, out of sight and out of mind.

Helen Scales is our

guide on an underwater journey, as we fathom the depths and watch these animals going about the glorious business of being fish. As well as the fish, we meet devoted fishwatchers past and present, from voodoo zombie potion hunters and scientists who taught fish how to walk to nonagenarian explorers of the deep sea.

Woven throughout are vignettes of Helen's own aquatic explorations, from eerie nighttime dives with glowing fish and up-close encounters with giant manta rays, to floating in the middle of a swirling shoal being watched by thousands of inquisitive eyes.

As well as being a rich and entertaining read, this book will inspire readers to think again about these animals and the seas they inhabit, and to go out and appreciate the wonders of fish, whether through the glass walls of an aquarium or, better still, by gazing into the fishes’ wild world and swimming through it.

'Engaging and informative' The Economist

By: Helen Scales
Imprint: Bloomsbury Sigma
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
Weight: 226g
ISBN: 9781472936820
ISBN 10: 1472936825
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 02 July 2020
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Prologue: The wandering ichthyologist Chapter 1: Ichthyo-curiosities Sedna the sea goddess Chapter 2: A view from the deep - introducing the fish How the flounder lost its smile Chapter 3: Outrageous acts of colour The salmon of knowledge Chapter 4: Illuminations O-namazu Chapter 5: Anatomy of a shoal Osiris and the elephantfish Chapter 6: Fish food Vatnagedda Chapter 7: Toxic fish Chipfalamfula Chapter 8: How fish used to be The Doctor of the sea Chapter 9: Fish symphonies The fish and the golden shoe Chapter 10: (Re)thinking fish Epilogue Appendix: Illustration species list Glossary Select bibliography and notes Acknowledgements Index

Helen Scales is a marine biologist, diver, surfer, broadcaster and writer who's spent hundreds of hours underwater watching fish. A familiar voice for the oceans, she's pondered the mysteries of the deep sea with Robin Ince and Brian Cox on BBC Radio 4's The Infinite Monkey Cage and donated an imaginary tank of seahorses to The Museum of Curiosity. She's a regular writer for BBC Focus and BBC Wildlife magazines. Among her radio documentaries she's explored the dream of living underwater and followed the trail of endangered snails around the world and back again. Helen's book, Spirals in Time, is a Guardian bestseller. It was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Biology book prize, picked as a book of the year by The Economist, Nature, The Times and the Guardian and was BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week. @helenscales / helenscales.com

Reviews for Eye of the Shoal: A Fishwatcher's Guide to Life, the Ocean and Everything

Scales's genuine appreciation and awe for fish are contagious. She continually entices the reader by introducing exciting aspects of fish in each chapter. * Science * A delightful book that provides a welcome invitation to enter the amazing world of fish. * New Scientist * An engaging and informative bouillabaisse. * The Economist * A sprawling, ambitious underwater journey studded with fascinating tidbits. * New York Times Book Review * This aquarium of a book is an eloquent reminder of how remarkable [fish] are. * Natural History * Enthralling and thought-provoking * Countryman * Helen Scales invites us to dive below the waterline as she reveals the hidden but glorious lives of fish going about their rather fascinating business. * Coast * Eye of the Shoal is a book brimming with wonders. Shimmering colours, otherworldly abilities, and compelling dramas flood every page, as the masterful Helen Scales brings us eye-to-eye with the world of fishes - creatures who are at once thrillingly strange and startlingly ubiquitous. Whether you snorkel or scuba, whether you meet fish in a tank or on TV, this book is new portal to see our blue planet with new eyes, one that will make you love our world and its creatures all the more. Eye of the Shoal is like a beautiful glass bottomed boat that reveals this mysterious realm with joyful passion and perfect clarity. You couldn't have a more knowledgable guide on board than Helen. Eye of the Shoal is an absorbing account of the least understood area of our planet. Helen brings the depths to life, not only with wondrous accounts from her extensive travels, but also by introducing us to some magnificently improbable characters (both human and piscine), and by astonishing us with mind-blowing facts on every page. This fantastic and timely book will change your perspective on your pet goldfish, a fishmonger's window display, a darting flash of silver glimpsed from a boat and the colourful world of a coral reef. A must-read for anyone interested in life on Earth. If you already love fish wherever they swim, you'll be astonished by so many new discoveries in these pages. If you don't love fish - you surely will.'