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Octopus!: The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea
No one understands the octopus. With eight arms, three hearts, camouflaging skin, and a disarmingly sentient look behind its highly evolved eyes, how could it appear anything but utterly alien?
Octopuses have been captivating humans for as long as we have been catching them. Many cultures have octopus-centric creation myths, art, and, of course, cuisine. For all of our ancient fascination and millions of dollars' worth of modern research, however, we still have not been able to get a firm grasp on these enigmatic creatures.
Now, Katherine Harmon Courage, a veteran journalist and contributing editor for Scientific American, dives into the mystifying underwater world of the octopus. She reports from around the globe of her adventures in Spain, Greece, and even Brooklyn, inviting us to experience the scientific discoveries and deep cultural ties that connect us to the octopus. You'll discover:
- The oldest known fossilized octopus is estimated to have lived 296 million years ago—even before the first dinosaurs emerged.
- Government agencies are funding research labs around the world to re-create the octopus’s naturally occurring camouflage techniques.
- About two thirds of an octopus's brain capacity is spread throughout its eight arms, meaning each one literally has a mind of its own.
- Octopuses have aced numerous intelligence tests, including opening childproof bottles, solving mazes, and even recognizing individual people.
- The octopus can change colors and textures within milliseconds to vanish against its background—yet we have no evidence that it can see in color.
Courage deftly interweaves personal narrative with interviews with leading octopus experts. The result is an entertaining yet scientifically grounded exploration of the octopus and its infinitely complex world.
Octopuses have been captivating humans for as long as we have been catching them. Many cultures have octopus-centric creation myths, art, and, of course, cuisine. For all of our ancient fascination and millions of dollars' worth of modern research, however, we still have not been able to get a firm grasp on these enigmatic creatures.
Now, Katherine Harmon Courage, a veteran journalist and contributing editor for Scientific American, dives into the mystifying underwater world of the octopus. She reports from around the globe of her adventures in Spain, Greece, and even Brooklyn, inviting us to experience the scientific discoveries and deep cultural ties that connect us to the octopus. You'll discover:
- The oldest known fossilized octopus is estimated to have lived 296 million years ago—even before the first dinosaurs emerged.
- Government agencies are funding research labs around the world to re-create the octopus’s naturally occurring camouflage techniques.
- About two thirds of an octopus's brain capacity is spread throughout its eight arms, meaning each one literally has a mind of its own.
- Octopuses have aced numerous intelligence tests, including opening childproof bottles, solving mazes, and even recognizing individual people.
- The octopus can change colors and textures within milliseconds to vanish against its background—yet we have no evidence that it can see in color.
Courage deftly interweaves personal narrative with interviews with leading octopus experts. The result is an entertaining yet scientifically grounded exploration of the octopus and its infinitely complex world.
238 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
76 people are currently reading
2051 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Harmon Courage
4 books43 followersKatherine Harmon Courage is an award-winning freelance journalist, editor, and author.
She has written for The New York Times, Wired, Gourmet, Popular Science, Prevention, ESPN The Magazine, as well as numerous websites including NationalGeographic.com, Time.com, Oprah.com, NPR.org, FastCompany.com, and Nature.com. Her work ranges from breaking science news to features about food. And she has dabbled in podcasts and video along the way. Prior to becoming an independent journalist, she worked as a reporter and editor at Scientific American.
Her second book, Cultured: How Ancient Foods Can Feed Our Microbiome is out now from Penguin Random House. She is also the author of Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature In the Sea. And her work was featured in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2013.
She has written for The New York Times, Wired, Gourmet, Popular Science, Prevention, ESPN The Magazine, as well as numerous websites including NationalGeographic.com, Time.com, Oprah.com, NPR.org, FastCompany.com, and Nature.com. Her work ranges from breaking science news to features about food. And she has dabbled in podcasts and video along the way. Prior to becoming an independent journalist, she worked as a reporter and editor at Scientific American.
Her second book, Cultured: How Ancient Foods Can Feed Our Microbiome is out now from Penguin Random House. She is also the author of Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature In the Sea. And her work was featured in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2013.
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October 31, 2013Rating: 3.75* of five
Anyone who's paid me the slightest bit of attention over the years knows I'm a fan of Tentacled Americans. They're delicious. They're delightfully ookie. They're probably the closest things I'll ever have to soul mates: They don't like their own kind, regard other species as prey or enemies, and possess a deeply misunderstood intelligence.
All I lack is six more arms. Which is why I enjoyed OCTOPUS!: The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea by Katherine Harmon Courage so much.
My review lives on the Science page at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud.
Anyone who's paid me the slightest bit of attention over the years knows I'm a fan of Tentacled Americans. They're delicious. They're delightfully ookie. They're probably the closest things I'll ever have to soul mates: They don't like their own kind, regard other species as prey or enemies, and possess a deeply misunderstood intelligence.
All I lack is six more arms. Which is why I enjoyed OCTOPUS!: The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea by Katherine Harmon Courage so much.
My review lives on the Science page at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud.
December 26, 2013
There's a lot of information here, but it's drowning in a veritable sea of adjectives. The author's chummy, Cosmo-italics-laced style didn't resonate with me. There's misinformation snuggled up with the facts (human blood is never blue, even when it's returning for re-oxygenation, and it does not turn red from contact with the air, f'rinstance) and some breezy nonscientific words (gazillions!) scattered among the exclamation points. Every fact in this book seems to have the same weight, from how the author puked over the side of a fishing boat, to how an octopus can make a false eye-spot.
I think, for me, the kiss of death was the tone of this book. Courage lists a lot of magazines in her credits, and I think her jaunty style would perhaps work better in that arena. But I didn't like it, not one bit.
I think, for me, the kiss of death was the tone of this book. Courage lists a lot of magazines in her credits, and I think her jaunty style would perhaps work better in that arena. But I didn't like it, not one bit.
April 26, 2015
Octopus! suffers from a fatal misjudgment of its own target audience, somehow confusing people who want to read a book about an animal with people who want to eat that animal. In fact, as obsessed with plating the 'pus as Katherine Harmon Courage's book is, the subhead should have been The Most Delicious Creature in the Sea: the first sixty pages are devoted entirely to the octopus as culinary object.
Courage, who apparently undertook this project after writing a blog post for Scientific American on tool-wielding octopus, is a solid if uninspiring science writer, and the latter parts of the books dedicated to fascinating facts about the octopus (camo skin! super suckers! smarter than your average bear!) are the most readable bits of the work. What Courage is not is a conversational travel writer, and it feels very much like some editor told her she needed to sandwich her sciencey bits in between mildly-humorous personal travelogues to make her book marketable. The result is an unfortunate Frankenstein stitched together with recipes that seem in extremely bad taste given the amount of time Courage spends talking about how bright octopus are and how much personality they can have. Certainly cephalopods as foodstuffs needed to be addressed, but the way it's handled here might drive you temporarily vegetarian.
Coming in at just over two hundred pages, Octopus! also feels a little light, and is surprisingly lacking in its assessment of octopus in social, historical, literary, and mythological context. Still, there's some interesting scientific trivia to be had here...provided you can stomach the way it's served up.
Courage, who apparently undertook this project after writing a blog post for Scientific American on tool-wielding octopus, is a solid if uninspiring science writer, and the latter parts of the books dedicated to fascinating facts about the octopus (camo skin! super suckers! smarter than your average bear!) are the most readable bits of the work. What Courage is not is a conversational travel writer, and it feels very much like some editor told her she needed to sandwich her sciencey bits in between mildly-humorous personal travelogues to make her book marketable. The result is an unfortunate Frankenstein stitched together with recipes that seem in extremely bad taste given the amount of time Courage spends talking about how bright octopus are and how much personality they can have. Certainly cephalopods as foodstuffs needed to be addressed, but the way it's handled here might drive you temporarily vegetarian.
Coming in at just over two hundred pages, Octopus! also feels a little light, and is surprisingly lacking in its assessment of octopus in social, historical, literary, and mythological context. Still, there's some interesting scientific trivia to be had here...provided you can stomach the way it's served up.
April 3, 2015
There’s a breathless, glib, jokey writing style that plagues popular nonfiction. It betrays an insecurity on the part of the author (or the editor) that the subject matter is not interesting as it is, and so must be constantly sold to the reader.
Courage’s Octopus! has many problems, starting with that exclamation point, but this is the main one: a prose style that is supposed to be breezy, but sounds kind of like a local newspaper column and kind of like a commercial. Here you’ll find a superabundance of words that an adult should be borderline embarrassed to employ (stinky, scary, gosh darn, gazillion); of pop-culture references to movies and comic books; of bad jokes (“no cephalopod-composed sonnets have ever been found” –p70); and of sentences like: “All in all, the few extant cephalopods make a cozy little class” (p63)—annoyingly twee sentences devoid of content.
We get a lot of wasted time on nods towards, rather than analysis of, octopuses in pop culture (the last surviving record of that Spirit movie we have all tried to forget is in this book); on personal accounts of “the day I went on a boat”; on things “inspired by” octopuses. Statements are vague and backed up with phrases that would be flagged by wikpedia as weasel words: “Some contend…” (p68) — who contends? “Some researchers…” (p101) — which ones? And speaking of researchers, how do you get your interviewees to sound alike, anyway? On p105, Richard Baraniuk says, “That’s complicated, man—super, super complicated”; one page later, Naomi Halas says she seeks to create something that’s “good—super, super good—at blending.”
This is a little suspicious, but it’s not like I necessarily want a pop book about octopuses to be a rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific text. I just want to read about octopuses without someone trying to sell me on the fact that the “incredibly efficient” (p73) octopus has “stunning adaptations” (p77) and “amazing assets” (p83). On p86, the phrase “flashy flesh” comes one sentence after “squid soliloquy.”
It’s almost like Courage runs her prose through a filter that feeds her sentences a diet of sports drinks and cocaine, until they are so breathless and action packed that they demand to be read in the voice of a Spike TV announcer. What else could explain writing like: “...even back in the 1940s the Marshall Plan lobbed a hunk of money over to Naples, Italy, to see if a lab there could crack the code of the cephalopod brain” (p7)?
If you manage to notice, as the words streak past, the lack of specifics in this sentence—if you manage to ask which lab, or what part of the Marshall plan, or how much is a hunk, or when in the ’40s, or what does cracking a brain code really mean—then the smoke and mirrors will fail to have done their job. But it’s all smoke and mirrors, and there’s very little here.
Courage’s Octopus! has many problems, starting with that exclamation point, but this is the main one: a prose style that is supposed to be breezy, but sounds kind of like a local newspaper column and kind of like a commercial. Here you’ll find a superabundance of words that an adult should be borderline embarrassed to employ (stinky, scary, gosh darn, gazillion); of pop-culture references to movies and comic books; of bad jokes (“no cephalopod-composed sonnets have ever been found” –p70); and of sentences like: “All in all, the few extant cephalopods make a cozy little class” (p63)—annoyingly twee sentences devoid of content.
We get a lot of wasted time on nods towards, rather than analysis of, octopuses in pop culture (the last surviving record of that Spirit movie we have all tried to forget is in this book); on personal accounts of “the day I went on a boat”; on things “inspired by” octopuses. Statements are vague and backed up with phrases that would be flagged by wikpedia as weasel words: “Some contend…” (p68) — who contends? “Some researchers…” (p101) — which ones? And speaking of researchers, how do you get your interviewees to sound alike, anyway? On p105, Richard Baraniuk says, “That’s complicated, man—super, super complicated”; one page later, Naomi Halas says she seeks to create something that’s “good—super, super good—at blending.”
This is a little suspicious, but it’s not like I necessarily want a pop book about octopuses to be a rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific text. I just want to read about octopuses without someone trying to sell me on the fact that the “incredibly efficient” (p73) octopus has “stunning adaptations” (p77) and “amazing assets” (p83). On p86, the phrase “flashy flesh” comes one sentence after “squid soliloquy.”
It’s almost like Courage runs her prose through a filter that feeds her sentences a diet of sports drinks and cocaine, until they are so breathless and action packed that they demand to be read in the voice of a Spike TV announcer. What else could explain writing like: “...even back in the 1940s the Marshall Plan lobbed a hunk of money over to Naples, Italy, to see if a lab there could crack the code of the cephalopod brain” (p7)?
If you manage to notice, as the words streak past, the lack of specifics in this sentence—if you manage to ask which lab, or what part of the Marshall plan, or how much is a hunk, or when in the ’40s, or what does cracking a brain code really mean—then the smoke and mirrors will fail to have done their job. But it’s all smoke and mirrors, and there’s very little here.
June 28, 2016
Let's say that you like Golden Retrievers so you decide to read a book about Golden Retrievers, and then the first 60 pages of the book contain, in graphic detail, instructions on how to kill and cook Golden Retrievers as well as horrible reflexive tidbits about how Gold Retriever meat feels in your mouth. And to round it out, lots of pictures of severed Golden Retriever legs!
I WANT TO READ ABOUT OCTOPODS BECAUSE I LIKE OCTOPODS AND THINK THEY ARE FASCINATING, INTELLIGENT LIFE FORMS. I don't want to read about them getting murdered because some people like how they taste.
I admit that I didn't read the whole book. I mean because I hated it.
I WANT TO READ ABOUT OCTOPODS BECAUSE I LIKE OCTOPODS AND THINK THEY ARE FASCINATING, INTELLIGENT LIFE FORMS. I don't want to read about them getting murdered because some people like how they taste.
I admit that I didn't read the whole book. I mean because I hated it.
January 23, 2020
3,5/5. Maybe not as educative and learnful as I was expecting and hoping for but I still learn quite a bit and enjoy my reading. My main problem with it that some chapters were focusing a lot on eating or the fishing for selling and eating of the octopus but when you read a book about such an amazing animal and that you want to earn about it, actually reading about eating is not the point and not very interesting… that was a weird editing choice in my opinion. Then it also have the writing that try sometimes to hard to be funny which didn’t work for me and it isn’t what I want to read, again, in a book like that, bring me facts, research, this is non-fiction, I want to learn not be entertain! It was still good, yes I learn, but it could have been so much more!
July 25, 2025
interesting read! picked up from the library
January 20, 2017
Octopus! is a fascinating exploration that is less about the creature itself (the plural of which we are told not more than a few pages in, is octopuses because of the word’s Greek origin, not octopi) as it is humanity’s relation with it. The book begins with a look at how these creatures are caught and from then goes on to examine everything from the role of the octopus in our cuisine to how the organism is informing studies of camouflage, robotics, and artificial intelligence. A large portion of the work is about those who are working to understand the cephalopod’s physiology—from the fluid mechanics of how it jets around in water to the distributed intelligence that likely helps control its arms to how cells in its skin detect the surrounding conditions and allow it to camouflage itself so quickly (not simply changing color but also texture and even the polarization of reflected light).
All of this means that as much as Courage wants us to take the octopus on its own terms, throughout the book the animal is continually seen through the lens of its relationship (and usefulness) to humans. In this respect, the title needs the exclamation point, because despite the fascinating topic, the book itself reads at times like an extended Scientific American article, or a series of these articles put together (and it did, admittedly, start as something like that): a ride-along on an octopus fishing boat, a visit to a robotics lab on the Italian coast or an octopus-processing plant in NYC, complete with a cascading cast of experts and scientists who add their perspective to the author’s account. It makes for a lot of information but not necessarily a cohesive narrative.
Besides the octopus and our interactions with it (on boat, plate, and lab) the book lacks an organizing or overarching theme. We’re not given a clear picture of Courage’s own story regarding the subject: how did she develop such an interest in the octopus that she was driven to seek out experts around the world? This might have helped tie things together, if the author herself played a larger role in the narrative. Courage’s writing style was also at times uneven, moving abruptly from expert scientific exposition (which was usually clear and sharp and detailed, as when, for instance, she offers an extensive discussion of editing in the octopus gene sequence) to random allusions of octopus depictions in comics, pop culture, horror films, and even erotica. A more structured discussion of any of these topics would have added to the treatment, but presented as they were without context or discussion (at times it seemed just for comedic effect) they seemed abrupt or even jarring. Despite these flaws, the book was rich with fascinating detail regarding these amazing invertebrates.
All of this means that as much as Courage wants us to take the octopus on its own terms, throughout the book the animal is continually seen through the lens of its relationship (and usefulness) to humans. In this respect, the title needs the exclamation point, because despite the fascinating topic, the book itself reads at times like an extended Scientific American article, or a series of these articles put together (and it did, admittedly, start as something like that): a ride-along on an octopus fishing boat, a visit to a robotics lab on the Italian coast or an octopus-processing plant in NYC, complete with a cascading cast of experts and scientists who add their perspective to the author’s account. It makes for a lot of information but not necessarily a cohesive narrative.
Besides the octopus and our interactions with it (on boat, plate, and lab) the book lacks an organizing or overarching theme. We’re not given a clear picture of Courage’s own story regarding the subject: how did she develop such an interest in the octopus that she was driven to seek out experts around the world? This might have helped tie things together, if the author herself played a larger role in the narrative. Courage’s writing style was also at times uneven, moving abruptly from expert scientific exposition (which was usually clear and sharp and detailed, as when, for instance, she offers an extensive discussion of editing in the octopus gene sequence) to random allusions of octopus depictions in comics, pop culture, horror films, and even erotica. A more structured discussion of any of these topics would have added to the treatment, but presented as they were without context or discussion (at times it seemed just for comedic effect) they seemed abrupt or even jarring. Despite these flaws, the book was rich with fascinating detail regarding these amazing invertebrates.
June 25, 2016
This is, hands down, the most offensive book I've ever read about any animal.
I didn't expect a really serious science book. By the author's own admission in the introduction, with a bachelor's in English and a master's in journalism, she's not exactly the first person you'd expect to write a book on octopuses. So, I was prepared for at least some bits of the book to be about some journey of self-discovery or whatever – I thought if she at least kept it to a minimum and managed to intelligently discuss octopuses with the aid of peer-reviewed scientific references in a coherent and well-organised way, I could forgive some self-indulgent reflections and bad jokes. But nothing could have prepared me for the book's “travel blog” style (local recipes, cute, warm-hearted locals, etc.).
Here are a few quotes from the first two paragraphs of the introduction to the book:
I was completely baffled (and disgusted) when I first read these few lines. Despite already being negatively predisposed to the book I read on because I thought there was no way that these sorts of comments and this type of language would continue on past the introduction of the book. The obsession with octopus as a food (and traveling) did in fact dominate the entire book – the sciencey bits seemed more like afterthoughts to justify the book being marketed as a science book.
A cooking book with octopus recipes – fine. A travel blog that includes octopus recipes – that's all well and good. But a “science” book (even if it is popular science) that attempts to talk about how intelligent and complex octopuses are and then goes on to talk about how to cook them in a jokey, overly enthusiastic tone, in my opinion, shows a profound disrespect not only for the octopuses, but for all animals and nature in general. The book seemed to be saying: those animals can be as clever and as sentient as they want, but what really matters is how tasty they are and what sort of experiences (and opportunities) they can provide people (traveling, hunting, cooking, being an author/journalist, etc.).
I didn't expect a really serious science book. By the author's own admission in the introduction, with a bachelor's in English and a master's in journalism, she's not exactly the first person you'd expect to write a book on octopuses. So, I was prepared for at least some bits of the book to be about some journey of self-discovery or whatever – I thought if she at least kept it to a minimum and managed to intelligently discuss octopuses with the aid of peer-reviewed scientific references in a coherent and well-organised way, I could forgive some self-indulgent reflections and bad jokes. But nothing could have prepared me for the book's “travel blog” style (local recipes, cute, warm-hearted locals, etc.).
Here are a few quotes from the first two paragraphs of the introduction to the book:
“With eight arms, three hearts, camouflaging skin, and a disarmingly sentient look in its eyes [...] we will discover what makes the octopus so fascinating […] And yes, for good measure, we'll also taste a few of them […] So sit back and relax – fix yourself an octopus's garden cocktail if you like – as we plunge into the realm of the strong, slick, smart and occasionally delicious octopus.”
I was completely baffled (and disgusted) when I first read these few lines. Despite already being negatively predisposed to the book I read on because I thought there was no way that these sorts of comments and this type of language would continue on past the introduction of the book. The obsession with octopus as a food (and traveling) did in fact dominate the entire book – the sciencey bits seemed more like afterthoughts to justify the book being marketed as a science book.
A cooking book with octopus recipes – fine. A travel blog that includes octopus recipes – that's all well and good. But a “science” book (even if it is popular science) that attempts to talk about how intelligent and complex octopuses are and then goes on to talk about how to cook them in a jokey, overly enthusiastic tone, in my opinion, shows a profound disrespect not only for the octopuses, but for all animals and nature in general. The book seemed to be saying: those animals can be as clever and as sentient as they want, but what really matters is how tasty they are and what sort of experiences (and opportunities) they can provide people (traveling, hunting, cooking, being an author/journalist, etc.).
April 10, 2015
If you like octopuses/octopi/octopodes, DO NOT read this book.
Let me clarify, in detail, why this book is absolute rubbish.
Firstly, okay, you want to write the first two chapters about different cultures and their regards toward eating octopuses, fine. I sort of accept that as a thing that people might do, no matter how distressing I find it. People eat octopuses, okay, fine. Chapters 1 and 2, we are done with the eating, great!
After that, the fun begins! She tells stories about scientists and researchers and their subjects of study. Really amusing anecdotes, too; one is about a curious researcher who was fond of giving eggs to an octopus, her reactions of pleasure when she got to crack open the eggs and eat the contents. Her reaction when, out of curiosity, said researcher gave her a rotten egg. Stories and anecdotes which clearly give character to these octopuses; the subjects of the anecdotes express a range of emotions, from boredom to anger to mistrust. They seem intelligent and fun to know!
Interrupt this amusing flow of thought with a section about the writer, Katherine Harmon Courage, going to an establishment where she was given an octopus (who was clearly unhappy in its cage, probably more aware of the fate in store for it than people might credit) which was chopped up in front of her, and her delight in eating freshly killed octopus legs, which continued their crawling about and trying to escape/grab things. My FAVORITE PART (she said with venomous sarcasm) was when she described how she had to rip a tenacious tentacle off her plate, and it made a noise "like a tiny bath mat being ripped off the shower floor" and how it was an "intimate" eating experience in which she really felt that she and the octopus were both sharing in this eating experience together.
Yeah. That happened AFTER she established how intelligent and feeling these creatures are. This woman is an IDIOT, and frankly, her writing style was pompous and not sufficiently charming enough to overcome the soul-wrenching horror of this "intimate eating experience" she thrusts on the unwary reader after establishing CHARACTER (I can't stress this enough) for these animals!
It was vicious, poorly written, and really, her writing is jut awful. So I reiterate, if you are fond of octopuses and want to learn more about them, I'd avoid this book. Katherine Harmon Courage is a monster.
Let me clarify, in detail, why this book is absolute rubbish.
Firstly, okay, you want to write the first two chapters about different cultures and their regards toward eating octopuses, fine. I sort of accept that as a thing that people might do, no matter how distressing I find it. People eat octopuses, okay, fine. Chapters 1 and 2, we are done with the eating, great!
After that, the fun begins! She tells stories about scientists and researchers and their subjects of study. Really amusing anecdotes, too; one is about a curious researcher who was fond of giving eggs to an octopus, her reactions of pleasure when she got to crack open the eggs and eat the contents. Her reaction when, out of curiosity, said researcher gave her a rotten egg. Stories and anecdotes which clearly give character to these octopuses; the subjects of the anecdotes express a range of emotions, from boredom to anger to mistrust. They seem intelligent and fun to know!
Interrupt this amusing flow of thought with a section about the writer, Katherine Harmon Courage, going to an establishment where she was given an octopus (who was clearly unhappy in its cage, probably more aware of the fate in store for it than people might credit) which was chopped up in front of her, and her delight in eating freshly killed octopus legs, which continued their crawling about and trying to escape/grab things. My FAVORITE PART (she said with venomous sarcasm) was when she described how she had to rip a tenacious tentacle off her plate, and it made a noise "like a tiny bath mat being ripped off the shower floor" and how it was an "intimate" eating experience in which she really felt that she and the octopus were both sharing in this eating experience together.
Yeah. That happened AFTER she established how intelligent and feeling these creatures are. This woman is an IDIOT, and frankly, her writing style was pompous and not sufficiently charming enough to overcome the soul-wrenching horror of this "intimate eating experience" she thrusts on the unwary reader after establishing CHARACTER (I can't stress this enough) for these animals!
It was vicious, poorly written, and really, her writing is jut awful. So I reiterate, if you are fond of octopuses and want to learn more about them, I'd avoid this book. Katherine Harmon Courage is a monster.
September 9, 2013
First, I feel I must put out this full disclosure. I love octopus. I think they are beautiful, intelligent (and yes, delicious) creatures. I love sushi, have a takoyaki pan, held raw octopus in my hands, and would love to keep one in a tank someday because they are so beautiful to watch. So I was overjoyed when I won this for a First Read! I put aside several other projects and started reading this right away.
Katherine Harmon Courage does for octopuses what Mary Roach has done for human body functions; made them fun, interesting, and accessible. Anyone who is fascinated or curious about sea life, or animal behavior and the animal’s role in culture should get this book!
Right from the start, K.H. Courage packs her information in witty commentary that flows smoothly from one subject to another. I was stopped in my tracks by the fact that I can log on to a site to watch octopus live on the net. I did log on to one site, only to be frond-ed by a starfish! Plus, there is a fossil at the Field in Chicago. I was there in 2006, was it there, too?!? I have another reason to go back to The Field! There is even a martini with a roast octopus for garnish. That was the Introduction, I’m enamored, and I didn’t want to put it down!
This is a densely packed book, not a light and uninformative read. A majority of the first few chapters are dedicated to the fisherman and their cultures who have incorporated octopus for a long time. The chapters titled “Skin Tricks” and “Brain Power” were the most fascinating and scientifically mind blowing. Hearing about keeping octopus in a tank, and how hard that is, almost makes me change my mind, and I certainly wouldn’t consider it without a substantial income to help support it. Finally, we are given details about “Sex and Death,” chapters that raise more questions about their amazing behavior, then the question of sustainability is mentioned. Something that I hadn’t considered, but is immediate and valid.
I feel like I got a treasure about a subject I adore! Collector’s Item! This book will stay on my shelf for as long as I have shelves.
Katherine Harmon Courage does for octopuses what Mary Roach has done for human body functions; made them fun, interesting, and accessible. Anyone who is fascinated or curious about sea life, or animal behavior and the animal’s role in culture should get this book!
Right from the start, K.H. Courage packs her information in witty commentary that flows smoothly from one subject to another. I was stopped in my tracks by the fact that I can log on to a site to watch octopus live on the net. I did log on to one site, only to be frond-ed by a starfish! Plus, there is a fossil at the Field in Chicago. I was there in 2006, was it there, too?!? I have another reason to go back to The Field! There is even a martini with a roast octopus for garnish. That was the Introduction, I’m enamored, and I didn’t want to put it down!
This is a densely packed book, not a light and uninformative read. A majority of the first few chapters are dedicated to the fisherman and their cultures who have incorporated octopus for a long time. The chapters titled “Skin Tricks” and “Brain Power” were the most fascinating and scientifically mind blowing. Hearing about keeping octopus in a tank, and how hard that is, almost makes me change my mind, and I certainly wouldn’t consider it without a substantial income to help support it. Finally, we are given details about “Sex and Death,” chapters that raise more questions about their amazing behavior, then the question of sustainability is mentioned. Something that I hadn’t considered, but is immediate and valid.
I feel like I got a treasure about a subject I adore! Collector’s Item! This book will stay on my shelf for as long as I have shelves.
August 11, 2017
This is not the octopus book for me. I am not interested in eating octopuses. I do not require octopus recipes. As a longtime vegetarian, I especially do not want to know what the texture of octopus inside one's mouth is like. This book reads kind of like a series of essays, some weighted towards travel, others towards biology, and others towards food. However, the biology of the octopus is covered very superficially and the travel stuff not particularly interesting, and I am too put off by all the octopus-as-food sections to continue. It is not unlike choosing a book about the wonders of the giant panda, only to find that half the book is devoted to grilling panda flank steaks and shishkebabs.
Octopuses are much cooler than this book makes them out to be. Although also light on the science, Soul of an Octopus is a much more affectionate and personable look at these fascinating invertebrates.
Octopuses are much cooler than this book makes them out to be. Although also light on the science, Soul of an Octopus is a much more affectionate and personable look at these fascinating invertebrates.
June 1, 2016
I rounding my rating to a 3.8
The book is good, I'm not really too interested in Octopuses but this book did get my attention when I was in the library today and thought it was a interesting read which it was but the one thing I wasn't a fan of and didn't get why the author decided to add it in her book were recipes on how to cook and eat octopus which I'll never try because it weird to me to eat one but it was overall interesting to learn about this interesting sea creature that isn't talked about a whole a lot when it comes to animals or animals from the sea to be more specific.
The book is good, I'm not really too interested in Octopuses but this book did get my attention when I was in the library today and thought it was a interesting read which it was but the one thing I wasn't a fan of and didn't get why the author decided to add it in her book were recipes on how to cook and eat octopus which I'll never try because it weird to me to eat one but it was overall interesting to learn about this interesting sea creature that isn't talked about a whole a lot when it comes to animals or animals from the sea to be more specific.
March 5, 2017
I'm keen to know more about octopuses, but I'm sad to say, this book went on my Life is Too Short to Finish This Book list right around chapter two. I like a friendly author, but the chatty, veering-into-silly tone of this one turned me right off. I might have better appreciated it at twelve, but I doubt it (I was a literature snob as a child, too). I'm looking for an interesting, informative, and entertaining popular science book about octopuses, but words like supertough (pg. 39) and 'em (pg. 29 & 32), as in "...and it makes 'em gosh darn difficult for us humans to catch" left me irritated. I mean, golly gee whiz, call me elitist, but I need a LITTLE more scientific rigour in my popular science books than all that.
Dammit. Because I really like octopuses.
Dammit. Because I really like octopuses.
Read
October 27, 2024Opening this book with 60 pages on how to kill and eat an octopus was definitely a choice. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in not wanting that and wanting more facts about the octopus. I really enjoyed the second half of this book. It had the fascinating tone that I wanted, diving into the world of the octopus and how it lives/survives and the weird things it can do. But that's all overshadowed by the 'you can also eat it!' narrative that flows throughout.
So...I'm conflicted. Just skip the beginning if you're like me, I guess.
So...I'm conflicted. Just skip the beginning if you're like me, I guess.
November 10, 2020
This was exactly what I hoped for: a lively, upbeat summarization of what science knows about the octopus. The chatty, casual style was sometimes a little grating, and I'm not sure what the goofy "recipe boxes" from the earlier chapters added, but otherwise it was a nice deep dive into my favorite cephalopod.
October 29, 2018
This was simply awful. Randolph's review pretty much says all you need to know.
March 27, 2016
A truly crappy book. For the first 36 pages, Courage explores her own personal history (Mommy and Daddy might care, but I don't) a recipe or two (try the cooking publishers, in future, please), her inability to keep her meals inside her body, (might try a visit with your doctor, Courage), her history of EATING octopi (and yes, Courage, that IS, in fact the correct plural when talking about octopuses of more than one species), and a (very brief) description of some ports where octopus fishing takes place, and some more-detailed-than-needed descriptions of their economies (try the business publishers) and the fishermen involved (National Geographic might be interested, I'm NOT). I didn't struggle PAST page 36, because, frankly, Courage is, in addition to her inability to select a proper genre and angle for her book, apparently incapable of writing coherently on any subject other than food or herself (one does not haul in 'much octopuses', any more than one drives 'much cattles' - the proper word choices are 'many' and 'octopi', since one is hauling in more than one species of the creature), unless one is speaking whimsically - not the sort of thing one does in a scientifically - angled (allegedly) book. If I wanted to read about seasickness, vomit, ports, the economy, or the autobiography of a narcissist, I'd have chosen a book from one of those categories. This FAILED from the start, and miserably, to capture my attention and enthusiasm. In various parts of the world, people eat bats, household cats, and dogs, as well - but I don't choose to read about them - OR their recipes.
September 13, 2013
While reading this Goodreads ARC Giveaway, I craved calamari*. Not a mild craving, either. I'm talking the entire 218 pages all I wanted to do was binge on calamari*. It's actually making me hungry right now. Right now. Just writing about it.
I blame the author for this irrational craving.
Now for the review:
From the first page, I was intrigued (mainly due to the "octopus garden cocktail" recipe provided- I'm a sucker for a good cocktail recipe). Katherine found a way to truly keep the reader enticed while learning about this mysterious creature, either by providing octopus themed drink recipes (as previously mentioned), by supplying corny octopus jokes, or referencing octopuses in pop-culture. Honestly, there were a few times when I stopped reading so I could YouTube the references.
The book details our fascination with the octopus. It describes the creature's traits and explores the impact the octopus has had on cuisine (CALAMARI*), culture through the ages, as well as the effect on the scientific community. And it also references Germany. They used their octopus to predict the winner of the World Cup. Go figure.
In short, I really enjoyed this book. If you are a fan of octopus (or calamari*), do yourself a favor and give this a read!
*Yes, I understand that calamari is a squid, not an octopus. But after completing this book, I can also tell you that squid & octopus are both part of the cephalopod family. And both are extremely tasty treats. So, tomato, tomahto.
I blame the author for this irrational craving.
Now for the review:
From the first page, I was intrigued (mainly due to the "octopus garden cocktail" recipe provided- I'm a sucker for a good cocktail recipe). Katherine found a way to truly keep the reader enticed while learning about this mysterious creature, either by providing octopus themed drink recipes (as previously mentioned), by supplying corny octopus jokes, or referencing octopuses in pop-culture. Honestly, there were a few times when I stopped reading so I could YouTube the references.
The book details our fascination with the octopus. It describes the creature's traits and explores the impact the octopus has had on cuisine (CALAMARI*), culture through the ages, as well as the effect on the scientific community. And it also references Germany. They used their octopus to predict the winner of the World Cup. Go figure.
In short, I really enjoyed this book. If you are a fan of octopus (or calamari*), do yourself a favor and give this a read!
*Yes, I understand that calamari is a squid, not an octopus. But after completing this book, I can also tell you that squid & octopus are both part of the cephalopod family. And both are extremely tasty treats. So, tomato, tomahto.
August 31, 2013
Thanks to Current, the publisher, and Goodreads, for this ARC! I was so excited to win and this book was, simply put, fun! It's one of those slim, fast reads that's filled with interesting lore, facts about physiology and behavior, and current scientific data. As a person who's loved the sea and been fascinated by Octopuses (yes, that's the correct plural!) all my life, there were things in here I didn't know. My only quibble, and the reason I didn't give it five stars, is that sometimes the writing descends to "blog-speak". I'm interested in hearing about this wonderful beastie, not the author's bouts of sea sickness. For heaven's sake, take some dramamine! I can't believe this was the first time you were out on the water! All-in-all though a really fun book and I'm giving it to my diving nephew for Christmas. You should know, there aren't a great many pictures, but frankly in this day of the web, I'd rather have the text!
May 21, 2016
I almost gave up on this book fifty pages in, but I'm glad I didn't. The author's breezy style made the early chapters -- mostly about catching and eating her subject -- a chore to get through. I didn't care what she wore, how much she enjoyed consuming octopuses, or how many times she threw up. Once I got past the travel and gastronomy though, the scientific chapters were pretty good. While the author's style is still light and there are too many cute asides, the information is well presented and interesting. By book's end, the octopus has emerged as a creature of wonder and the author as a decent chronicler of natural history. She also points the way to other, more substantive volumes on cephalopod behavior and intelligence that I may get around to in time.
March 31, 2014
As a person who finds eating octopuses upsetting (because I like them so much), I was hoping for a book about their lives and their biology, their environment. Once I realized that the author was going to talk about eating them, I decided to press on anyway, hoping the eating would be anecdotal and not the main point of the book. But, it kinda looks like I was wrong. In addition, and maybe the real complaint about this book is that a lot of the book is about the author going around doing the research, which honestly is just not that interesting to me: I wanted to read about octopus, not the author trying to figure out what to write about octopuses. Needless to say, I won't be finishing it.
June 29, 2014
"Misanthrophic mollusks" is how Courage describes my most beloved of sea creatures/invertebrates -- is it any wonder why I like them so much? This is an interesting overview of this mysterious cephalopod, chock full of enlightening tidbits on their intelligence, biology, abilities, and habits. It does get slightly repetitive at times, and there were sections where my eyes glazed over a bit. But for the most part, as an amateur simply interested in the creature and not a scientist with an extensive background in the field, Courage does a good job of making the animal understandable for fellow amateurs.
August 23, 2014
Interesting overall, but a little odd. The 30 second summary goes something like this -
Octopuses are amazing creatures, and humanity has so much to learn from them...Let's talk about killing and eating them (complete with recipes)! ...Octopuses are amazingly talented and intelligent. So much so the European Union has designated them as creatures with consciousness that need to be treated humanely in the lab...Let me tell you about the time I ate the Korean delicacy of raw octopus where the tentacles still squirm and fight in your mouth..."Although for the poor octopus it was not the best of times, it felt almost as if we shared the dining experience."
Huh?
Octopuses are amazing creatures, and humanity has so much to learn from them...Let's talk about killing and eating them (complete with recipes)! ...Octopuses are amazingly talented and intelligent. So much so the European Union has designated them as creatures with consciousness that need to be treated humanely in the lab...Let me tell you about the time I ate the Korean delicacy of raw octopus where the tentacles still squirm and fight in your mouth..."Although for the poor octopus it was not the best of times, it felt almost as if we shared the dining experience."
Huh?
March 4, 2014
Although the octopus is a fascinating subject, and although the author does briefly touch on many of it's unique characteristics, I found that Courage didn't actually have the courage (or perhaps the means) to delve deeply into the octopus' world. She did an admirable job of presenting a general survey, but she did focus a little too intensely on octopus as food and sort of did a skim of the science. Granted, there's a lot of science to be had.
Perhaps, better put, I didn't feel like her heart was into her research or her presentation of the topic.
Perhaps, better put, I didn't feel like her heart was into her research or her presentation of the topic.
September 12, 2014
Slickly packaged and really annoying. Spent 60 pages on how to fish and cook Octopus. Then the authress borrows from writings by actual scientists--sometimes with credit given but usually not--to which she adds light weight analysis. I bought the book for interest in the content. Better for anyone interested in octopus to look elsewhere.
If you want to eat Octopus, Ms. Courage's book has a few recipes and she relates the joys of eating octopus. Still, for recipes, I recommend a cookbook or the food channel.
If you want to eat Octopus, Ms. Courage's book has a few recipes and she relates the joys of eating octopus. Still, for recipes, I recommend a cookbook or the food channel.
July 22, 2022
Perhaps part of the problem with my reading this is a little "octopus book fatigue". I've now read quite a few books on octopuses. However most of my previous readings seemed to add quite a bit to my knowledge and intrigue and this one didn't do quite as much for me.
There is no doubt that Katherine Courage is enthusiastic about her octopuses but the main problem with this book is lack of focus, or understanding of what her audience is. We start off with a bit about what amazing creatures octopuses are. Then we are treated to quite a long section - almost a third of the book - about octopus fishing and eating.
Are we here for how tasty octopuses are or how interesting they are as sea life? I do think these are separate audiences. Not that you couldn't be interested in both but it's sort of odd to merge them, just as you probably wouldn't have a book about how fun dogs are as pets and adorable they are with a huge section at the front about eating dog meat and how to carve one up and serve one.
The author even admits that many people who are intrigued with how intelligent and interesting octopuses are often refuse to eat octopus.
The book really isn't big enough to be an "All about octopuses from every point of view" book - the essential guide to octopuses" so I would have suggested being more focused would be better. Also, if Courage wanted to include both areas, that they be better separated out. Later, when she does start talking about octopus as sea life, she keeps skipping back to eating them occasionally, but in a haphazard way. It might be interesting if it were more ordered, for instance she wanted to link every eating point to a point about octopus biology eg Chapter on Octopus Heads - Begin with recipe for eating octopus heads - now let's talk about the biology of the octopus head and the amazing things it can do.
It might be amusing and a different approach to structure, making her book special. But instead her book simply looks more like it lacks order and is stream-of-consciousness-y.
Another aspect that is jammed in is "how octopuses have influenced humans" eg how we have been inspired by them - I think this was very interesting but again it seemed a bit over the place.
The book reads like Courage's personal story as she explores octopuses but as a reader I was interested in the octopuses - not Courage's personal adventure.
There was some good info but felt it was a bit mixed up in the way it was structured and a lot of the info I didn't really need.
There is no doubt that Katherine Courage is enthusiastic about her octopuses but the main problem with this book is lack of focus, or understanding of what her audience is. We start off with a bit about what amazing creatures octopuses are. Then we are treated to quite a long section - almost a third of the book - about octopus fishing and eating.
Are we here for how tasty octopuses are or how interesting they are as sea life? I do think these are separate audiences. Not that you couldn't be interested in both but it's sort of odd to merge them, just as you probably wouldn't have a book about how fun dogs are as pets and adorable they are with a huge section at the front about eating dog meat and how to carve one up and serve one.
The author even admits that many people who are intrigued with how intelligent and interesting octopuses are often refuse to eat octopus.
The book really isn't big enough to be an "All about octopuses from every point of view" book - the essential guide to octopuses" so I would have suggested being more focused would be better. Also, if Courage wanted to include both areas, that they be better separated out. Later, when she does start talking about octopus as sea life, she keeps skipping back to eating them occasionally, but in a haphazard way. It might be interesting if it were more ordered, for instance she wanted to link every eating point to a point about octopus biology eg Chapter on Octopus Heads - Begin with recipe for eating octopus heads - now let's talk about the biology of the octopus head and the amazing things it can do.
It might be amusing and a different approach to structure, making her book special. But instead her book simply looks more like it lacks order and is stream-of-consciousness-y.
Another aspect that is jammed in is "how octopuses have influenced humans" eg how we have been inspired by them - I think this was very interesting but again it seemed a bit over the place.
The book reads like Courage's personal story as she explores octopuses but as a reader I was interested in the octopuses - not Courage's personal adventure.
There was some good info but felt it was a bit mixed up in the way it was structured and a lot of the info I didn't really need.
September 17, 2018
I believe so many of the negative reviews of this book are by people who wished it were a different type of book than what it ever set out to be, and then blamed the author for not giving them what they wanted. Courage makes no bones about it – she’s not a scientist, and came to the topic with little prior knowledge. Her degrees were in English and Journalism, and that’s exactly how the book is framed – as a journalist’s view of the subject. She is not offering the insights or innovative thinking that a specialist on the subject might. She limits herself to presenting the facts as she has discovered them through research, and the quotes of experts as she has gathered them (through interview, books or video). Her approach is to convey not just the scientific biological mysteries, but the cultural aspects as well, and frankly it makes perfect sense to start with the gustatory realm as the introduction to the octopus realm, since for centuries that has been virtually the only role for humans – as food. If the book had been about Gadus morhua no one would have batted an eye if it discussed the cod’s role as a food staple and the collapse of the Northwest Atlantic fisheries. I’m a vegetarian, and as distasteful as I find it that people eat other creatures, I don’t for a moment pretend that it’s not happening and not part of the overall picture.
On those terms, the book succeeds at what it set out to do. Is it a superficial overview? Yes. But the book’s structure and research is both cogent and appropriate for the subject. My biggest niggling problem is the authorial voice. She clearly performed voluminous research and took copious notes of every possible mention of, or reference to, the octopus in literature, film, history, culture, etc., but her insistence on wedging every one of those references into a pithy aside too often interrupts what are otherwise successful paragraphs relating the work of a specialist in the field. If not making a reference to comic-book villains, she’s turning to the audience to make a chummy comment which no doubt she thinks will build a rapport with the reader, but which instead comes off as bit juvenile and silly. This is a 200+ page book, not a Buzzfeed click-bait article, and deserved a little more professionalism from the author and editors.
On those terms, the book succeeds at what it set out to do. Is it a superficial overview? Yes. But the book’s structure and research is both cogent and appropriate for the subject. My biggest niggling problem is the authorial voice. She clearly performed voluminous research and took copious notes of every possible mention of, or reference to, the octopus in literature, film, history, culture, etc., but her insistence on wedging every one of those references into a pithy aside too often interrupts what are otherwise successful paragraphs relating the work of a specialist in the field. If not making a reference to comic-book villains, she’s turning to the audience to make a chummy comment which no doubt she thinks will build a rapport with the reader, but which instead comes off as bit juvenile and silly. This is a 200+ page book, not a Buzzfeed click-bait article, and deserved a little more professionalism from the author and editors.
August 24, 2019
I need to stress that I did NOT finish the book, but not because I didn't find it enjoyable. I'm interested in octopus from a biological perspective and already know SO much about them. This book is for people who want to start the journey into understanding what the octopus really is and why it's so cool. If you already know a lot about octopus or only like reading scientific books, this isn't for you. The reviews on the back of the book are misleading which is why I picked it up. I would classify it in the same league as Sy Montgomery's "Soul of an Octopus" but also in the first two chapters I was put off by a few things but my chief complaint is that the author uses an excess of adjectives which makes the writing seem bulky (but that may just be because I'm reading this as a biologist).
Other than that I will always encourage those who want to learn more about things (like octopuses) to start by reading books such as this one and work your way up! That's how I started learning about squid! Happy reading!
Other than that I will always encourage those who want to learn more about things (like octopuses) to start by reading books such as this one and work your way up! That's how I started learning about squid! Happy reading!
October 14, 2023
Despite being initially put off by this books incessant use of Americanisms, I came to enjoy this overview of what we know about Octopuses*. I think this book could have been a lot better if the author considered that it'd be read by an international audience and few outside America know what pounds, ounces, gallons, yards etc equate to, its very unscientific language to use in what is essentially a book in the naturalist genre.
As a biologist, reading this was at times, tiresome as a lot of complex biological processes were poorly explained or oversimplified and in any case didn't really add much to the flow of the book. It really started to pick up towards the end though, so I'm happy to say the author redeemed herself.
Long live Octopus!
*this book taught me its Octopuses so for that it deserves at least three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
As a biologist, reading this was at times, tiresome as a lot of complex biological processes were poorly explained or oversimplified and in any case didn't really add much to the flow of the book. It really started to pick up towards the end though, so I'm happy to say the author redeemed herself.
Long live Octopus!
*this book taught me its Octopuses so for that it deserves at least three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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