Many Things Under a Rock

“Scheel brings the world of the octopus vividly alive. The best nature books do not just describe animals: they give us a sense of what it might be like to shape-shift ourselves and live in their skins.” * Financial Times *
Fascinating. Scheel’s unique perspective on these animals makes this the deepest of octopus books. * Peter Godfrey-Smith, author of Other Minds *
David Scheel’s astonishing observations make him one of the most important octopus ethologists working today. He is also, fortunately for us, a sensitive and lyrical writer, bringing knowledge and stories from native cultures to bear on the science he describes. I was agog at some of his accounts: severed arms wincing with pain; octopuses throwing things at each other; and octopuses seemingly standing sentinel over their octopus neighbourhoods. This book is mind-blowing and soul-expanding. You’ll be thinking and talking about Many Things Under a Rock for a long time. * Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus *
Enchanting... This is just one of the fascinating factoids that marine biologist David Scheel shares with us in this clever book, based on his 25 years as one of the leading octopus researchers in the world… It is enough to melt the stoniest of hearts. * Mail on Sunday *
Octopuses are deeply, gloriously weird… The book abounds with wonders. – Kathleen Jamie * New Statesman *
Scheel offers fascinating glimpses of octopus life […] that may thrill and surprise even those of us who have read The Soul of an Octopus or watched My Octopus Teacher… excellent. * Times Literary Supplement *
Scheel has been studying cephalopods for 25 years. His fascination is infectious in Many Things Under a Rock, which sets out to address an interesting question: what is it like to be an octopus? … How wonderfully weird and weirdly human. * Sunday Times *

David Scheel, Professor of Marine Biology at Alaska Pacific University, has researched the behaviour and ecology of octopuses for more than 25 years. His discoveries include a previously unnoticed species of large octopus and a common signal use among octopuses living in unusual densities. He starred, with Heidi the Octopus and his daughter Laurel, in the BBC documentary ‘The Octopus in My House’.

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