Fuzz

Reviews / Votes

"[Fuzz is] powerfully propelled by the force of Roach's unflinching fascination with the weird, the gross and the downright improbable... There's a wacky genius to [her] interjections...[Her] curious and generous engagement with her subjects makes for world-expanding reading." -- Amelia Urry - Washington Post "An idiosyncratic tour with Roach as the wisecracking, ever-probing guide... My favorite moments, ultimately, weren't the funny ones, but those that reveal a bit of scientific poetry." -- Vicki Constantine Croke - New York Times Book Review "Each chapter is packed with the results of [Roach's] detailed investigations. Roach uses footnotes to add both depth and lightness to the topic at hand by capturing misfit studies, asides, and hilarious tangents... Refreshing." -- Katherine E. Himes - Science "With her characteristic dry wit, [Roach] brings an intense fascination to the seldom discussed details and the at times absurd miscellany in the unexplored corners of unappreciated research... It is impossible not to smirk, chortle and sometimes outright belly laugh as you read her many wry asides and funny but fascinating footnotes... But the real trick Roach pulls off is to keep you laughing while at the same time making sure the earnest points come across." -- Tiffany O'Callaghan - New Scientist "Full of kernels of fascinating information... Her approach is informative and unpretentious, and she's always armed with a dry sense of humor. Roach will change the way you think about the great outdoors. What more could you ask for?" -- Emerson Malone - Buzzfeed "The book brims with Roach's irreverent humor, which particularly shines when she experiences human-animal conflict firsthand... A blend of modern science and history, with Roach's flair for spotting hidden absurdities... As another entry in Roach's canon of books, Fuzz stands tall (and hairy), educating as much as it entertains." -- Bethany Brookshire - Science News "Reading a Mary Roach book is like spending a luxurious and joyful evening with the perfect dinner guest. Delightful facts become indelibly etched in your brain, and only later do you realize that hours have passed and your face slightly hurts from smiling too hard. In Fuzz, Roach's peerless storytelling skills are paired with a sense of moral urgency, as she recounts stories of humans and other animals, uneasily and clumsily learning to co-exist in a world that they must now share." -- Ed Yong, bestselling author of I Contain Multitudes "Hilarious! With Fuzz, Mary Roach again takes us into an unfamiliar scientific realm, in this case the science of managing the conflicts between humans and the natural world-lethal leopards, rampaging elephants, jet-downing birds, even killer trees. It's an ever-widening conflict zone, but one that Ms. Roach gleefully mines for a multitude of bizarre facts that'll make you snort coffee through your nose." -- Erik Larson, bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile "This book is such a rich stew of anecdotes and lore that it's best savored slowly, bit by bit... No matter the situation, Roach approaches it with contagious enthusiasm." -- Alice Cary - BookPage (starred review)