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St. Martin's Press

The Genius Bat: The Secret Life of the Only Flying Mammal

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At a glance

Condition
New
Publisher
St. Martin's Press
Accessibility
Learn more
Publication date
October 7, 2025
Language
English
File size
39.6 MB
Screen Reader
Supported

Description

"[A] wonderful book." —Nature "A mind-opening adventure." —Natural History An awe-inspiring tour of bat world by the world’s leading expert With nearly 1500 species, bats account for more than twenty percent of mammalian species. The most successful and most diverse group of mammals, bats come in different sizes, shapes, and colors, from the tiny bumblebee bat to the giant golden- crowned flying fox. Some bats eat fruit and nectar; others eat frogs, scorpions, or fish. Vampire bats feed on blood. Bats are the only mammals that can fly; their fingers have elongated through evolution to become wings with a unique, super-flexible skin membrane stretched between them. Their robust immune system is one of the reasons for their extreme longevity. A tiny bat can live for forty years. Yossi Yovel, an ecologist and a neurobiologist, is passionate about deciphering the secrets of bats, including using AI to decipher their communication. In The Genius Bat, he brings to vivid life these amazing creatures as well as the obsessive and sometimes eccentric people who study them–bat scientists. From muddy rainforests to star-covered night deserts, from guest houses in Thailand to museum drawers full of fossils in New York, this is an eye-opening and entertaining account of a mighty mammal. Read more

Specs 9

Publisher St. Martin's Press
Accessibility Learn more
Publication date October 7, 2025
Language English
File size 39.6 MB
Screen Reader Supported
Enhanced typesetting Enabled
X-Ray Enabled

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Top Amazon Reviews

Love this book!
Format: Hardcover
Bought this for my daughter who loves bats. Great book!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2026 by Murphys Mom
Great book!
Format: Hardcover
Great book, easy read
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2026 by Dholly
The Genius Bat
Format: Hardcover
This is an incredible book. It is a real page turner with so much information. I highly recommend this book.
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2026 by Debbie
Great for students of nature and wonder
Format: Hardcover
Great book. Scientific but easy to understand. Lots of interesting information. Highly recommended.
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2025 by snowbaron
Very good
Format: Hardcover
Our great granddaughter loves this book.
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2026 by Joan M. Peay
The social/ anthropological life of bats—-yes, bats!
Format: Hardcover
Written for curious nonscientists in conversational English, this is a highly readable and informative book about how bats survive and thrive in various environments. Enjoying it.
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2025 by Chaiam Yankel's bubbie
Bats
Format: Hardcover
Absolutely wonderfully done
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2025 by Valerie Robertson
The genius of writing about bats and those who study them
Format: Hardcover
[Review based on the uncorrected digital version on NetGalley] This is a wonderful book. Written by Yossi Yovel, a professor of biology at Tel Aviv University who has made an academic career out of the subject of its title, the book is at once engaging popular science book, a history of its field, and personal memoir. Each chapter focuses on a particular species or group of bats, their evolved features and behaviors, the (often wild, but sometimes urban) natural habitats they live in, as well as the larger biological concepts at play. The distinctive capabilities of bats, namely flight and echolocation, are treated in depth, but in a manner that is accessible to nonspecialists and thoroughly spellbinding if you have even the slightest curiosity about how the natural world works. The broader biological topics, such as ecology, sociality, perception and neurobiology, and evolutionary dynamics (such as the predator/prey arms races) are explained and illustrated beautifully. What makes the book more than just a fascinating popular science monograph, however, is the human dimension. Science is always also a social phenomenon and a personal undertaking for the people involved. Yovel’s narrative skillfully interleaves the science with historical background and autobiographical anecdotes. A typical chapter neatly wraps three narrative threads: an exposition of scientific questions and findings, a historical account of how knowledge on the relevant topics was uncovered, often involving rivalries between pioneers in the field, and a personal account of how the author has himself contributed to the field, first as a student, later as a postdoctoral researcher and professor. The personal anecdotes often include vivid accounts of personal interactions with colleagues and said scientific pioneers, or bits of travelogue about expeditions to the remote habitats of various bat populations. The message that comes across is clear: biological science is not just the dry accumulation of knowledge, but a human endeavor full of excitement, disappointments, and interpersonal engagements and relationships. The writing never tries to dumb down the science, is easygoing and never academic or didactic in tone, and is far from dry. In fact, the only dry aspect is the humor that is sprinkled throughout, such as when Yovel describes how eminent bat researcher Gareth Jones lands on bats as his eventual subject of investigation. While studying birds, he accidentally catches some bats in his net: “It was his first bat experience. It’s not clear who fell into whose net, Jones or the bat.” With this book, Yovel entices the reader to get caught up in his own mesh of narratives about bats and bat scientists, with most pleasurable results. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2025 by Andreas Stolcke
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