Sloths
A Celebration of the World's Most Misunderstood Mammal
Published on 18. October 2018
208 pages
978-1-78649-424-5 (ISBN)
Description
A wonderfully entertaining celebration of that most unique of creatures: the sloth.
In public estimation, sloths have undergone an astonishing transformation in the course of the past few years. Thanks largely to YouTube clips posted by the sloth orphanage in Costa Rica, sloths have attracted a vast audience of admirers. Instead of seeing them as ridiculous anachronisms of which we know little, they have turned into creatures considered by many to be the most endearing on earth.
Over much the same period, scientific investigations have also changed our view of sloths. No longer are they seen as total misfits in the modern world but, in the words of one specialist sloth investigator, they are 'masters of an alternative lifestyle'.
In this wonderfully entertaining celebration of this most unique of creatures, William Hartston reveals the fascinating history of the sloth, from the prehistoric ground sloth to modern pygmy sloths in Panama, explores the current state of the science of sloths and reveals the truth behind sloth behaviour.
In public estimation, sloths have undergone an astonishing transformation in the course of the past few years. Thanks largely to YouTube clips posted by the sloth orphanage in Costa Rica, sloths have attracted a vast audience of admirers. Instead of seeing them as ridiculous anachronisms of which we know little, they have turned into creatures considered by many to be the most endearing on earth.
Over much the same period, scientific investigations have also changed our view of sloths. No longer are they seen as total misfits in the modern world but, in the words of one specialist sloth investigator, they are 'masters of an alternative lifestyle'.
In this wonderfully entertaining celebration of this most unique of creatures, William Hartston reveals the fascinating history of the sloth, from the prehistoric ground sloth to modern pygmy sloths in Panama, explores the current state of the science of sloths and reveals the truth behind sloth behaviour.
Reviews / Votes
Fascinating... Hartston writes all this with his customary wit and an obvious joy in discovery. -- Marcus Berkmann * Daily Mail * Riveting... Sloths! is as comprehensive a look at the instincts, lifestyle and capacities of this curious creature as you are ever likely to need... [A] beautifully written gem * Daily Express *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
3x8pp colour plates
File size
18,24 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-78649-424-5 (9781786494245)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2019
Atlantic Books
€33.61
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
William Hartston is a Cambridge-educated mathematician and industrial psychologist. Between 1962 and 1987 he played chess competitively, becoming an international master and winning the British chess championship in 1973 and 1975. He runs competitions in creative thinking at the annual Mind Sports Olympiad, writes the off-beat Beachcomber column for the Daily Express, where he is also the opera critic, and is the author of several books on chess, numbers, humour and trivia, including The Things That Nobody Knows and Even More Things That Nobody Knows. He is also one of the viewers on Channel 4's Gogglebox.
Content
1: A Sloth by Any Other Name 2: Two Toes or Three? 3: The Sloth that Saved Dublin 4: New Sloths for Old 5: Are Sloths Slothful? 6: Anatomy 7: Sex and the Solitary Sloth 8: The Deadly Sin 9: Pooping 10: The Abominable Slothman, and Other Myths 11: Sloths Eating, and Eating Sloths 12: Sloth Conservation 13: Sloths in Culture 14: Oddments 15: Costa Rica
