In elegant, stylish and often witty prose, he probes the near-legendary, almost primeval lagoon which inspired the ancient Greeks Historia animalium and animates it anew with his own incisive observations ... The Lagoon is a heroic, beautiful work in its own right, an enquiring odyssey into unknown nature, and the known world which science has created out of it * Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan or, The Whale and The Sea Inside *
Leroi clearly adores Greece and he uses his detailed local knowledge to splendid effect, evocatively re-creating the experiences of the peripatetic philosopher Leroi is absolutely right to say that even those sections of Aristotles work we no longer believe to be correct have affected the knowledge that we have today * Literary Review *
In this lush, epic and hugely enjoyable book, biologist Armand Marie Leroi explores the idea that it was another ancient Greek giant whose shoulders we may all stand upon Leroi is a beautiful writer and its been too long, a decade, since his last outstanding book * Observer *
Brilliant Not just a charismatic book, but one that places Aristotle in a freshly Aegean context Above all, Leroi shows, science today trawls through reams of data for patterns and explanations, in precisely Aristotles manner * Sunday Times *
Leroi takes us through Aristotles work, finding hints of modern thinking everywhere The Lagoon bubbles with enthusiasm for its subject, making an absolutely gripping read out of what might have seemed the most unlikely material * The Times *
Compelling, sometimes contentious, and always thought-provoking It celebrates what is most admirable in the Aristotelian tradition: its appreciation of what is actually there * Financial Times *
How Aristotle nearly beat Darwin to a theory of evolution. Brilliant * Sunday Times Must Reads *
Whether Aristotle is exploring the meaning of existence, the structure of the human heart or the souls of cuttlefish, Leroi is an enthralling and irreverent guide to the first scientist * Independent *
A look at some of the great Greeks most startling, yet often overlooked, ideas * Observer *
An admiring, deeply researched and considered reconstruction of Aristotles thinking about living things Marvellous As compelling as Stephen Jay Goulds best work, it will long outlast most nature writing of recent years * New Scientist *
Magnificent ... This book is powerful, graceful and charming. Lerois prose is as blue-white bright as an Aegean sky reflected from a whitewashed wall. Buy the hardback if you can it is beautifully designed and deftly illustrated * Guardian *
Leroi says that Aristotles writing is a naturalists joy; the same can be said for Mr. Lerois I admire this entertaining, insightful and felicitously written book * International New York Times *
Scintillatingly argued * James McConnachie, Spectator Books of the Year *
Leroi reconstructs Aristotles studies of wildlife at the Kalloni lagoon on Lesbos more than 2,300 years ago. Entertainingly, he builds up the thesis that the great Greek philosopher was the worlds first systematic biologist * Financial Times Books of the Year *
In the History of Animals [Aristotle] speaks of the reproduction of lice, the mating habits of herons, the sexual incontinence of girls, the stomachs of snails, the sensitivity of starfish, the dumbness of the deaf, the flatulence of elephants and the structure of the human heart: his book contains 130,000 words and 9,000 empirical claims. Lerois own uncompromising investigation gives us a flavour of his subjects indefatigable explorations Leroi does not upstage Aristotles descriptions with modern anatomical illustrations, though his attractively illustrated discussions draw on much scholarship that has been expended on editing and interpreting Aristotles ideas about nature Lerois scholarship is impeccable and consistently generous Only an expert biologist with broad cultural sympathies and a deep feeling for history could have created such a compelling reappraisal of Aristotles place in the history of science. Whats in a name, indeed; in marshalling the facts and ideas that support Aristotles scientific credentials in exuberant detail, Leroi must be accounted the king * Times Literary Supplement *
Even those of us who struggle with a very basic knowledge of the history of science can grasp what Leroi is teaching us in this often lovely study. Leroi brings together the personal, when he describes his own tracing of Aristotles footsteps, with the philosophical, as he explores Aristotles ideas, and the scientific * Independent *
From its magical opening this cabinet of curiosities explores the invention of science by Aristotle Leroi breathes life into Aristotles distant, still staggering revelations -- Christopher Hirst * Independent *