My review of Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid

I just finished reading Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid by Wendy Williams. (It's not just about squid, but about cephalopods generally). It's a highly accessible, very well written work of popular science. I learned a lot not just about squid but marine biology and medicine as well. Highly recommended.

Here's what Science said:

Williams also brings readers up to date on modern cephalopod science, including an exploration of the ongoing Humboldt squid invasion of California’s Monterey Bay. And how octopuses change color so quickly — that’s a topic too fascinating to pass up (hint: It works like a cellular peekaboo game). Most important, perhaps, these animals have also taught humankind a lot about itself. Much of what scientists know today about brain and spinal cells, for instance, came from studies of rice noodle–like neurons that run down the bodies of small squids.

Here's what Wired had to say:

Kraken is as an exploration of how we perceive squid, octopus, and cuttlefish. Only a handful of species – primarily the giant squid, the Humbolt squid, the longfin inshore squid, and the Pacific giant octopus – receive much detailed attention. These relatively familiar cephalopods act as molluscan ambassadors for the rest of their kind, and Williams uses them the draw out the general characteristics that make these creatures seem so strange. ...

Williams guides her readers over squid-filled boat decks, by aquarium tanks, and into dissection labs during her journey to understand cephalopods, but the narrative she creates is uneven. She is at her best when writing in the first person or recounting her conversations with researchers, but there are other explanatory portions of the book that simply fall flat. An early subsection about the evolutionary history of squid feels more like a Wikipedia article than part of a book, and long stretches of historical narrative in the neuroscience portion of the book feel tangential to the main storyline. Williams ends the book strong by considering what investigations of cephalopod intelligence might tell us about our own ability to understand the mental lives of other animals, though, and the portions of the book about the Humbolt and giant squid truly shine.

I think the Wikipedia analogy is unduly harsh, although the other criticism is fair. Even so, it's still a worthwhile read.