Lee Alan Dugatkin is a behavioral ecologist and historian of science in the Department of Biology at the University of Louisville. Among his ten books are How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog), Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose, and Principles of Animal Behavior, all published by the University of Chicago Press.
Power, and the way it is won and lost, unites angelfish and weaverbirds, ravens and cockroaches. By revealing its stunning variety in nature, Dugatkin shows how power isn't necessarily abusive, or ugly-it's simply a fact of life. From confrontation to espionage, with coalitions formed and dissolved, his absorbing stories explore how animals juggle their relationships and play a long game. -- Marlene Zuk, Regents Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, author of Paleofantasy and Sex on Six Legs 'Biology' means 'the study of life,' and it requires the story of life. Admirers of Dugatkin's acclaimed books such as How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog) know that he tells rousing stories about nature and how scientists decipher its mysteries. There could not be a more pervasive aspect of life than power dynamics, nor one that more greatly influences nature's slow change over time. For fans of both science writing and nature writing, Power in the Wild teems with enough animals and scientists around the world to satisfy David Attenborough-whose urbane narration comes to mind as one enlightening glimpse of nature follows another in this lucid and lively celebration of nature's diversity. -- Michael Sims, author of Adam's Navel and The Adventures of Henry Thoreau