Nature Is Never Silent: How Animals and Plants Communicate with Each Other

by Dr Madlen Ziege, Tanya Schneider (Reading), Alexandra Roesch (Translation)

For readers of Entangled Life and The Hidden Life of Trees, a fascinating journey into the world of plants and animals, and the ways they communicate with each other.

In forests, fields, and even gardens, there is a constant exchange of information going on. Animals and plants must communicate with one another to survive, but they also tell lies, set traps, talk to themselves, and speak to each other in a variety of unexpected ways.

Here, behavioural biologist Madlen Ziege reveals the fascinating world of nonhuman communication. In charming, humorous, and accessible prose, she shows how nature’s language can help us to understand our own place in the natural world a little better.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Audiobook, Animals, Environment, Biology

Audio CD

Published June 15, 2022

Reviews

[Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to Scribe UK, and NetGalley for a review copy of this book!

In Nature is Never Silent: How Animals and Plants Communicate With Each Other, author Madlen Ziege takes us on a journey through the world of nature to acquaint us with the many fascinating ways in which different beings—from unicellular to complex organisms—communicate with each other. Communication or the exchange of information between living beings is essential to their very survival—be it in the search for food, to identify and keep at bay predators, or to understand and adapt to the environment around them. In six chapters, divided in three parts, Nature is Never Silent acquaints us with some basics of life and the different ways in which beings receive and send information (through our senses of course)—both signals and receptors (visual, acoustic, chemical), before giving us some interesting examples of communication from different parts of the living world.

From plants to insects and larger creatures, these instances are once again testimony to the fact that nature never ceases to amaze us. We have plants able not only to recognise when they are being invaded but also which predator is attacking them and release the right chemical to repel it (the coyote tobacco plant); and not only that, when it is unable to deal with the ‘enemy’ on its own, it can send out chemical signals to call for help (as can the lima bean). Ziege gives us stories of benign and symbiotic cooperation between different creatures (trees and mushrooms, for instance), but also (answering one question I had) of how the plant and animal kingdom can as well use deception to meet their ends (the red hellerborine, an orchid, attracts pollinators by taking on the appearance of bluebells or worse still, ragworts imitate female insects in shape and colour, and even emit similar chemicals to attract pollinators) and also some horror stories (like of a parasitic fungus that takes control of Carpenter ants turning them almost zombie-like before blowing them up—yes you read that right!). The increasing urbanisation of our spaces has presented new challenges to our natural world as well, seeing changes in the need for communication and behaviour patterns, which they have done in admirable ways (peppered moths, for instance, adapting to the changing colours of trees after the industrial revolution by changing their own colours, and city badgers and rabbits, unlike their rural counterparts, not being as social with looser relationships and bonds among groups, not unlike as the author herself notes, ‘urban singletons’).

I loved all of the interesting information, and especially the truly astonishing stories of our natural world that this book had to tell us, but the first part of the book fell a little short. In explaining the basics of the natural world, and of communication in it (the various ways in which information is sent and received, how receptors/sensors are constructed and function, etc.), I felt that the book touched upon both very basic information (which I only vaguely remembered from science classes in school) as well as some that I needed to get my head around. This part, although the author did give examples, felt a little drier and slower moving than the second part (perhaps if part I had also included some more anecdotes and examples, it would have enhanced my enjoyment)—but once she got into more specifics and examples, the book started to pick up and become really enjoyable!

So overall, a book that I enjoyed a lot but with a small complaint about the first part!

3.9 stars

[Kalliope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book, inviting the reader to admire the complexity of nature, in which all the other beings are continually busy communicating with each other. We are normally aware of how, within a given species, signals are sent and received, but Ziege is particularly good in showing us how these connections take place not only across species, but also across botanical and animal worlds.

She has a very engaging prose, and the choice of titles for her chapters (Frogs are wind players; Latrines, a good communication business; What’s the point of eyes when you live in the dark; locusts listen with their legs; I hungry – you food; Cheating for Love; Tobacco plants asking for help; When fish go fishing; Why the Octopus would rather be a flatfish; etc etc) is I think the best way of giving an idea of what this book promises.

At times, though, in spite of Ziege’s cheerful and captivating style, the discussion stayed on a popular level with some difficulty. May be this was also the result that her examples are, have to be, on highly specific species. For example, she may discuss a case that pertains not to any just any ragwort, but to the Ophrys holoresica and the Eucera nigrescens. There is no way a reader would remember these details. On the other extreme, at times, she explains some biological concepts that most of us, non-scientist, would have learnt as part of their general education.

Nonetheless, this was a lovely read and it comes with wonderful illustrations.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover is absolutely breathtaking… I love it so much and it was the reason why I bought this book and why it caught my attention.

The book itself is a bit flawed in my opinion. I wonder what it’s target audience is, because it is written in a scientific language and it was hard to get into at times… The information is really interesting, but the way it is presented made it kind of hard to get into fully.

[Ross Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book by behavioural biologist Madlen Ziege.

If you are in any way interested in nature this book is a must to read. It reveals how animals and plants communicate with each other in the fascinating world of non-human communication.

Animals and plants are communicating with each other constantly, to survive and thrive. They may also send out false messages and lay traps, all in a variety of ways. :-O

The author has written this book in an easy-to-understand manner peppered with a bit of humour.

Certainly one of the most enlightening books I have read.

[Chantal Lyons · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, it turns out, isn't really for me. I devour nature writing and pop science books, so I thought I'd love this one, but it's written more for an audience with very little exposure to either of those genres. Much of the content is very basic biology, and coupled with a pestilence of exclamation marks throughout the book, it gave me the sense of a biology school teacher shouting excitedly in my ears.

There were a few titbits of knowledge that I was delighted to learn, such as how bacteria react to sounds at certain Hertz, However, I found myself skipping through a lot of the rest, and it was a shame that the author spent so little time on so many things. Definitely a case of quantity over quality. Even her own research barely got a look in - near the end of the book, she slowed down to recount her experiences studying urban rabbits, but it was still so short.

Finally, I was concerned to come across an error with regards to mycorrhizal fungi - it is stated that endomycorrhiza "usually occurs between fungi and orchid plants", but endomycorrhiza (as opposed to ectomycorrhiza) are by far the most common among fungi and plants (about 80% of total mycorrhizal relationships in the world I think? While only 10% of plants are orchids), so the book cannot be correct in this case. I happen to have recently read up on mycorrhiza for a project, hence why I caught the error, so there may well be others.

I cannot fault Ziege's enthusiasm in sharing her passion for nature and science, but I wish it had been better executed!

(With thanks to Scribe and NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review)

[Lukas Zeniauskas · Rating 1 out of 5]

basically the most basic book

[Kelly Furniss · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
In this book behavioural biologist Madlen Ziege reveals the fascinating world of nonhuman communication. The exchange of information in a variety of ways & surroundings between animals and plants in order for them to survive. I found this quite fascinating, the thought of all these different kinds of coded conversations going on in forests etc really intrigued me. However the chapters were quite quick and text book like not allowing much thought or in my case 'dreaming' of what it is like.
However, I think readers of this genre would still take gain some knowledge from this particular subject. A book I would recommend.

[K]

Knygoje greitu tempu pasakojama daug trumpų pabirų skirtingų istorijų apie gamtos biokumunikaciją - kaip bendrauja tarpusavyje gyvūnai, augalai ir grybai. Skyriai trumpoki ir daugumą dalykų iškart pamiršti. Jaučiamas nuolatinis autorės ypatingas entuziasmas.
Autorė pradeda pasakoti nuo mažiausių - vienaląsčių, tuomet apie augalus, grybus ir galiausiai didesnius gyvūnus. Labai jaučiamas prielankumas tiems didesniesiems - autorė norėjo tirti kates, bet netyčia likimas lėmė tirti žuvis pecilijas ir tuomet laukinius triušius. Apie pastaruosius užsimena jau knygos pradžioje ir skatina laukti pilnos istorijos, einant skyriams vis apie triušius užsimena ir galiausiai gale keliuose puslapiuose pateikia istoriją.
Taigi, apie triušius: pasirodo, miesto ir laukinių triušių elgsena visiškai skiriasi! Daug pasakojo apie triušių (ir kitų gyvūnų) išvietes - jomis žymi savo teritorijos ribas. Jos yra lyg gyvūnų socialiniai tinklai, kur kiekvienas palieka žinutę apie save - aš čia netoli gyvenu, aš labai stiprus, aš ieškau antros pusės ir pan. Labai svarbu yra tokiomis išvietėmis rūpintis, nuolatos prižiūrėti - taigi ginti savo teritoriją.
Dar prisimenu gerai apie mikorizes, mikrijas (?) ir pnš - kaip gamtos organizmai panaudoja optiką, garsą, kvapus, jog apgautų kitus ir pasiektų savo tikslus. Pvz, ofris apsimetantis bitės patele. Kitas augalas, apsimetantis katilėliu. Žuvys, apsimetančios pagalbininkėmis kaip kad tikros ppagalbininkės, taip prisiviliojusios suvalgo savo auką.
Orkos: seklumoje gyvenančios siunčia kitokius signalus nei gyvenančios jūroje, kadangi lašišos girdi/negirdi.
Vėžys naudoja savo žnyples, kad perduotų garsinį signalą.
Ąsoteniai draugauja su skruzdėmis, jog suviliotų daugiau aukų üį savo ąsočius

[Off Ca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gan vidutiniškas turinys. Prirankiota įdomesnių faktų apie augalus, gyvūnus, bet dauguma jų girdėti. Autorė bando viską apjungti per "komunikavimo" sąvoką, bet sunkiai pavyksta.
Ir pavadinimas gan klaidinantis - labai jau mažai to miško knygoje.
Vietoj šitos knygos daug įdomiau ir naudingiau pažiūrėti kokį serialą su David Attenborough.

[YITING · Rating 3 out of 5]

不少內容以前生物課本也有看過，有些希望作者再多講的也就點到為止了。翻譯部分，有些語句有點不順暢，但大致上都可以推敲出來。作者在最後提到法蘭福克城市野兔之謎，這個謎不知道現在有找到原因嗎?

[Maz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good and focused look at communication in the natural world. If you like Peter Wohlleben's hidden life of trees, this is a great next step that explores the same concept across a broader network of plants and animals.

[Harri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting. Very readable, even funny at times, but also absolutely fascinating.

[Esther Siedler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buchtitel: Kein Schweigen im Walde - Wie Tiere und Pflanzen miteinander kommunizieren
Autorin: Madlen Ziege
Verlag: Piper
ISBN: 9783492058971
Ausgabe: E-Book
Erscheinungsdatum: 03.02.2020

Inhalt:
"»Es ist immer wieder erstaunlich, wie gesprächig die Natur ist – sehr erhellend und unterhaltsam!« Peter Wohlleben
Wie sich Fuchs und Tanne gute Nacht sagen
Wussten Sie, dass Fische lügen? Oder dass Fledermäuse Selbstgespräche führen? Erstaunliche Erkenntnisse aus der Wissenschaft zeigen: Tiere und Pflanzen kommunizieren ständig und auf vielfältigste Weise miteinander. Wer meint, dass nur wir Menschen zu Übertreibungen und Unwahrheiten neigen, der irrt. Vögel, Fische oder Schnecken sind weitaus einfallsreicher als wir, wenn es zum Beispiel darum geht, einen Partner zu erobern. Die Verhaltensbiologin Madlen Ziege entführt uns in eine faszinierende Welt und erklärt leicht verständlich, wie ganze Ökosysteme in Kontakt zueinander treten. Dabei zeigt sie, wie uns die Sprache der Natur im Alltag weiterhelfen kann und warum man mit Tomatenpflanzen sprechen sollte."

Meinung:
Zuallererst möchte ich mich bei NetGalley, dem Verlag und bei der Autorin für dieses Rezensionsexemplar bedanken!
Bevor ich mich dem Inhalt widme, möchte ich einmal das süße Design vom Cover loben. Vor allem die Kombination des Fuchses und des Baums finde ich echt süß.
Nun kommen wir aber auch schon zum Text. Dieser hat mich doch ziemlich begeistert, auch wenn ich erst etwas skeptisch war. Tatsächlich hat mir direkt die Mischung aus lockeren Geschichten und Fakten sehr gefallen. Denn man wird nicht mit trockenen Fakten, sachlicher Sprache und Fachbegriffen erschlagen, sondern diese Dinge werden alle in ihr Buch eingewoben, sodass man sie quasi indirekt in sich aufsaugt. Was auch ganz gut ist, ist die Aufteilung in drei Teile. Im ersten Teil gibt es vor allem Informationen zur eigentlichen Kommunikation. Der zweite Teil handelt vom generellen Informationsaustausch unter Lebewesen und der dritte Teil zeigt einem, was passiert, wenn sich die Bedingungen plötzlich ändern. Besonders schön finde ich persönlich auch die Illustrationen, welche hier und da in das Buch mit eingestreut werden. Diese wurden tatsächlich auch von der Autorin großteils selbst gezeichnet. Was mich leider etwas zu Beginn irritiert hat, war der Titel des Buches, welcher irgendwie nicht hundertprozentig zum Inhalt zu passen schien. Ja, der Wald wird auch als Schauplatz im Buch genannt, jedoch ist er nur einer von vielen Schauplätzen, weswegen ich den Titel doch etwas unglücklich gewählt finde.
Den Schreibstil hingegen finde ich dafür echt toll und angenehm zu lesen. Auch wenn einem zeitgleich versucht wird Wissen zu vermitteln, so wirkt es doch nicht trocken.

Fazit:
Alles in allem ist es also ein ziemlich gutes Sachbuch, welches ich an jeden weiterempfehlen würde, der sich für Kommunikation unter Lebewesen, und nicht nur Menschen, interessiert!

[TheVampireBookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tato kniha v sobě nese hodně informací a to je její spásou a zároveň zhoubou. Protože je tam věcí fakt hafo, tak je členěná na krátké kapitoly a podkapitoly a tudíž se lehce odkládá i čte. Protože je tam věcí fakt hafo, tak se nedozvíte o ničem do hloubky vůbec nic.
Dokážu si tak nějak všechno představit jako dokument. Ale natočený na kameru. Na co mi jsou latinské názvy živočichů, které si nedokážu představit a musím v jednom kuse sahat po mobilu, abych si je vygooglila? A pokud se tu a tam nějaká ilustrace objeví, tak je černobílá. Hned v úvodu se autorka pozastavuje nad barevností rybiček, zatímco vy čučíte na černobílou rybu a říkáte si, jestli je tohle nějaká DIY kniha, kterou podle popisu máte vybarvit, vystřihnout apod.
Navíc název je zavádějící, o lese je toho tam pramálo, úvodní cliffhanger s králíky má podivné rozuzlení na samém konci a tak nějak vůbec celkově si přijdu podvedená. Což je dobrý tah autorky nebo jejího týmu. Ale pro čtenáře, který se chce trochu více vzdělat, přijde jen mišmaš informací, které neohromí.

[Jim S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about "biocommuncation", the active transmission of information between live beings.

As explained in the introduction "the living organisms in the stillest forest from the smallest fungus right up to the biggest tree, have quite a bit to say to each other. Those who think the forest is silent just haven't listened properly yet." She goes on the explain what information is, how it is transmitted (e.g. sight, sound, etc.) how the biocommunication can be honest or dishonest (see the Ragwort below) and provides numerous examples of biocommunication.

The topic is fascinating and opened up my eyes to things going on all around me of which I was unaware. How the carnivorous Pitcher plant uses nectar to draw insects to itself to consume and also forms a symbiotic relationship with ants to clean up the left-overs. How the ragwort, a type of orchid, attracts pollinators by taking on the shape, colour and scent of a female looking for a mate. How some breeds of firefly attract mates through their "flashing' and how other breeds imitate that flashing to get a meal.

Other reviewers have said that they found this book dry. I didn't find that, but it may be to combat this attitude that the author frequently laces her descriptions with juvenile humour. For example in discussing the life cycle of the liver fluke from sheep to snail to ant and back to sheep she writes "Mother fluke has done a good job in preparing the little ones" the little ones being her eggs. I may have found this funny in high school biology class. Now, not so much.

And sometimes Ziege really goes off-topic. She tells a story of a picnic being ruined by ants stinging the participants with formic acid (do ants really do that?), then talks about industrial uses for formic acid, and then mentions three older methods used to produce formic acid all of which involve crushing ants. She ends with the zinger "Luckily for ants, times have changed!" which may have been the reason for the whole digression.

Also an index would have been nice. At one point she mentioned a fish called a "wrasse" and it seemed to me she had mentioned this before. With no index I had to leaf through the book to find the previous mention which, by the way, was unrelated to the second mention.

In conclusion : great topic, great examples but I had a few issues with the delivery.

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The central premise of this book is that humans miss the tremendous amount of communication that is going on among and between other species. We miss it because we think of communication in an extremely limited way that revolves around visual and auditory expressions of human style languages. It doesn’t occur to us that different senses (e.g. smell) or other activities (e.g. stinging or passing gases,) could be used to convey messages as overt as, “Don’t touch me!” to as complex as, “There are good flowers to the southeast, roughly four-hundred meters along this line” or “Watch out! Some beetles have started chewing on my bark.”

While one might still dismiss all this communication as extremely simple compared to the infinitely complicated endeavor humans have made communicating, it’s not all just warning signaling. Many species engage in a form of communication that most people would probably attribute to humanity alone, specifically, deception. There are female fireflies who cannot only send a mating signal to males of her species to engage in reproduction, but can send counterfeit signals of other species to attract a male of another species of which she can make a snack.

It’s also important to note that it’s not just the species most similar to us who communicate. There are chapters devoted to both unicellular creatures and plants, species that one might be surprised to learn are quite active communicators.

I found this to be a highly thought-provoking book for the nature-lover, and I’d recommend it for anyone who wants to expand his or her horizons with respect to what is being transmitted in the natural world on those cold and quiet days when it seems like not a creature is stirring, and yet there’s always something.

[Lenka Habrnálová · Rating 2 out of 5]

Musím přiznat, že chvíle očekávání byla následovaná chvílí zklamání... od názvu a popisu knihx Les nemlčí jsem čekala zajímavou a detailní sondu do středoevropského lesa a toho, jak v něm probíhá komunikace. Naivně jsem si představila, že má příští návštěva lesa bude zcela jiná a já uvidím a uslyším nové věci, které mi do teď zcela unikaly. Místo toho je to vlastně obecný přehled zajímavostí ze světa zvířat celé planety. Trochu mi to připomínalo dokumenty Davida Attenborougha, kde jsou také většinou různé střípky a navíc vidět mravenčí zombie a číst o ní je docela rozdíl a v tom kniha prostě pokulhává. Schematické obrázky bez větších detailů, barev a popisků ve mně hlubokou stopu taky nezanechaly a nejvíc mne asi iritovalo množství uvozovek rádoby vtipných nebo soudobých přirovnání. Celkově jsem doufala, že zjistím něco o reálném životě a komunikaci v lese za humny a kromě králíků a jezevců toho bylo poskrovnu. Na druhou stranu je vidět, že autorka tématu rozumí a je pro něj nadšená. Bylo by skvělé, kdyby to příště využila na užším, ale propracovanějším segmentu... nejlépe lese za humny...

[A. P. Zacharová · Rating 4 out of 5]

⚫️Kniha Les nemlčí je dielom zo žánru populárno-náučného, ktorá ale zároveň obsahuje poznámkový aparát a spracovávanú tému biokomunikácie nepopisuje len zoširoka, ale podrobne, na rôznych živočíšnych či rastlinných druhoch, s dávkou odbornej terminológie, no stále zrozumiteľne i pre bežného čitateľa.
Dielo nie je náročné svojou odbornosťou, obsahuje niekoľko čierno-bielych ilustrácií a je vhodné pre prakticky všetkých odborníkov, nadšencov či amatérov v prírodných vedách, vďaka menšej miere odborných faktov v texte by však na jej plné chápanie bolo vhodné mať ako čitateľ
aspoň minimálne znalosti z oblasti biológie a života či rozmnožovania buniek, húb či rastlín. Ziegeovej dielo sa populárnou formou snaží priviesť k prírodným vedám a jej tajom čo najširší okruh čitateľského publika, čo sa mu vďaka prehľadnej forme, príjemnej narácii v spojení s relevantným vedeckým obsahom výborne darí.⚫️

[Scribe Publications]

It's always amazing how talkative nature is — very enlightening and entertaining!
Peter Wohlleben

In accessible language [Ziege] reports on fascinatingly clever chemical communication among bacteria; tells how wild rabbits coordinate and how badgers warn their enemies … Mushrooms set traps, fish lie, and fox and fir tree say goodnight. Illuminating brain food.
OÖ News

Communication between animals and plants takes on a whole new dimension.
Mittagzmagazin

In the forest and in your own garden, things are ... anything but quiet and calm, as Madlen Ziege, in a light and entertaining way, and using astonishing scientific knowledge, shows us.
Kronen Zeitung

[Scribe Publications]

It's always amazing how talkative nature is — very enlightening and entertaining!
Peter Wohlleben

In accessible language [Ziege] reports on fascinatingly clever chemical communication among bacteria; tells how wild rabbits coordinate and how badgers warn their enemies … Mushrooms set traps, fish lie, and fox and fir tree say goodnight. Illuminating brain food.
OÖ News

Communication between animals and plants takes on a whole new dimension.
Mittagzmagazin

In the forest and in your own garden, things are ... anything but quiet and calm, as Madlen Ziege, in a light and entertaining way, and using astonishing scientific knowledge, shows us.
Kronen Zeitung

[Aistė Pivoriūnienė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knyga apie biokomunikaciją - apie tai, kaip bendrauja visa, kas gyva. Juk net iš vienos ląstelės sudaryti gyvieji organizmai siunčia ir priima informaciją ir taip bendrauja.

Ar žinojote, kad augalų šaknys jaučia viena kitą? Kad žiogai girdi kojomis, o žuvys turi ausis? Kad vabzdžiai užuodžia ir kvapus suvokia savo antenomis?

Ypač įdomu buvo skaityti skyrių apie grybų ir augalų kalbą: plėšriuosius augalus ir grybus, ąsotenių draugystę su skruzdėlėmis, o grybo su augalais, kaip augalai vilioja, o kartais ir apgauna savo apdulkintojus. 

Išties gamtos pasaulis kerintis ir kiek daug dar čia neatrastų paslapčių slypi!

[Aust · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nepasakyčiau, kad likau supratusi, koks šios knygos tikslas. Realiai turbūt – papasakoti daug įdomių atsitiktinių faktų, kuriuos autorė sužinojo apie gamtą savo tyrimų metu. Dauguma jų išties įdomūs, tik iš jų mažai naudos. Na, nebent žmonėms, kurie kolekcionuoja atsitiktinius faktus.

Kažkaip pasiėmiau skaityti tikėdamasi, jog knyga padės geriau suprasti supantį pasaulį ir tai, kas vyksta miške, skaityti tą aplink vykstančią komunikaciją, bet nepasakyčiau, kad tai įvyko.

Net nesu tikra, kam ši knyga skirta – atsitiktiniam žmogui biokomunikacijos tema yra itin nišinė, o ekspertui knyga bus pernelyg primityvi. Tai turbūt ir lieka tie įdomių atsitiktinių faktų mėgėjai.

[Laima Jurijutė · Rating 2 out of 5]

Labai prastas knygos vertimas. Iš pradžių nesuvokiau, ar čia mano smegenys jau nebemoka skaityti, kad paprasčiausią sakinį tekdavo perskaityti kelis kartus, ar čia autorė labai įmantriai nori kažką pasakyti, kol suvokiau, kad sakinių logika keistai sudėliota.

Taip pat nuvylė tai, kad autorė labai šokinėja nuo vienos istorijos prie kitos į nieką per daug neįsigilindama. Informacija niekuo nenustebino, o vos sudominusi jau žiūrėk peršoka į kitą temą. Kur kas mieliau būčiau skaičiusi kelių pasirinktų rūšių bendravimo būdus, kurie būtų nuodugniai išnagrinėti, kaip pvz. knygoje apie ungurius.

Nerekomenduočiau šios knygos, yra kur kas geresnių šia tema.

[Carolyn Crocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nature is profligate, infinitely diverse, and ingenious, from the single-celled organism to animals greater sensitivities and capacities than humans. In this chatty book, the structure of communication in the living world is a subject for wonder and amazement. A browser's delight.

'And so even the living organisms in the stillest forest, from the smallest fungus right up to the biggest tree, have quite a bit to say to each other. Those who think the forest is silent just haven't listened properly yet. Nature is never silent.' p.1

[Travis Berketa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book would give some fascinating stories about the communication between animals (including humans) and plants. However, it was more a book about how animals and plants use sight, sound and smell to communicate - which I figure most people already know.

That said, there were some interesting revelations about certain plants and I didn't mind the chapter about how animals have evolved to live in large cities.

Also, a lot of scientific jargon; so if you're not big into biology, this book is probably not for you.

[Charmaine vd Merwe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book little bits at a time, in between reading less complicated books. It has a lot of really interesting information, but it is a lot to take in. It is not difficult to read - it is just a bit of information overload. But, doing it a little bit at a time, I've learned a lot. "Pissing contest" will for ever be associated with lobsters from hereon out. The author didn't use that term, but she sure painted the picture really well.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I'm a big fan of science based non-fiction, but this one didn't quite hit the mark for me. While it does contain many fascinating facts about various groups in nature - from bacteria to fungi and animal groups, it just fell a bit short in the overall message for me. I think this is the kind of book that would work brilliantly as a documentary, where we'd be able to hear and see the ways nature communicates more directly.

[Mike_msc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Никогда бы не подумал, что книгу по природоведению можно читать не отрываясь, как приключенческий роман. Автор приводит множество интересных фактов и наблюдений, не превращая при этом книгу в сборник несвязанных между собой анекдотов (чем часто грешат популяризаторские авторы), а выстраивая чёткое логическое повествование. Ну и конечно же любовь автора к предмету иссследования является одним из главных ингредиентов успеха.

[Karen Mace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book.

I found this to be an interesting read, if a little slow at times, that centres around how the natural world communicates with one another, and had my eyes opened to some really fascinating facts. From wildlife, to fungi, there's information about it all and it does make you look at the natural world in a different light on how messages are spread through the use of body language or sounds.

[Barbie Adamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is amazing for anyone wanting to spend some time reintroducing themselves to nature. Broken down into manageable chapters, there is a lesson in each and every portion that explores not only a local plant, animal, fish, or insect but goes around the world with great examples. Give yourself the gift of reading this book. Listen, learn, and observe nature differently.