Connecting with other animals is part of the essential and personal process of rewilding and reconnecting with other animals, and The Soul of an Octopus is just what is needed to close the gap.' Surely, there are large differences among nonhuman animals and between nonhuman and human animals, but there also are many basic similarities. 'Renowned author Sy Montgomery's latest gem is a must read for those who want to dissolve the human-constructed borders between 'them' (other animals) and us. Experience a real intelligence based on a sense of touch that humans can barely imagine.' 'Enter the mysterious intelligent alien world of the octopus. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds. With her 'joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures' ( Library Journal Editors' Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal's color-changing techniques.

Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan jetting water to bounce balls and endlessly tricking companions with multiple 'sleights of hand' to get food.

From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities-gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma.

In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this 'fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining' ( Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus-a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature-and the remarkable connections it makes with humans.

The soul of an octopus review