Finalist for the PROSE Award in Popular Science and Mathematics, Association of American Publishers
Winner of the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award, Northland College
Winner of the Nautilus Book Award, Animals & Nature Section
Finalist for the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize, BC and Yukon Book Prizes
meticulously researched and colorfully presented ... the first [book] to integrate so many dimensions of the field in a way that is accessible to nonexperts. It is a wonderful mix of animal ecology, narratives of sciencedoing, futurism, and accounts of Indigenous knowledge that is as interdisciplinary as the field itself.---Benjamin Gottseman, Science
Bakker's well-researched stories showcase the mysterious communication styles of whales, elephants, turtles, corals, plants, and bees as told by the scientists who care enough to listen. These scientific breakthroughs couldn't come at a better time...---Krystal Vasquez, Sierra
Bakker ladles academic research liberally onto the reader in short, spare sentences that build up to a comprehensive whole. Her deep knowledge is worn lightly throughout the book, so that you never feel overwhelmed.---Chris Stokel-Walker, New Scientist
I couldn't put [The Sounds of Life] down....a fascinating and forward-looking book---Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today
Nature lovers will delight in the...chronicle of the emerging technologies tuning us into a new world of non-human sound and conversation * The Globe and Mail *
In this beautifully written study, Karen Bakker. . . . compares digital technology that can reveal these sounds with the microscope's effect on vision. By extending our hearing, the technology allows us to encounter new soundscapes around the world and across the Tree of Life.---Andrew Robinson, Nature
A fascinating account of a rapidly advancing understanding of the sonic world that binds life together on this planet.---Graeme Gourlay, DIVE Magazine
The Sounds of Life is a charming and timely book, packed with stories of remarkable, eye-opening (and ear-opening?) discoveries.---Hilary Lamb, Engineering and Technology
Bakker is talking about the extension of our experience and our understanding and our sympathy in ways not possible before the advent of digital technology---John Wilson, First Things
Bakker's book is full of stories of wonder and curiosity about the world of sound that constantly surrounds humanity. * Mongabay *
This is a fascinating and surprising look at how the natural world teems with remarkable conversations, many beyond human hearing range. . . .a great read---Lorraine Connelly, The Countryman
Impeccably written, soundly researched, and utterly fascinating... Between and around the book's hard science, the author wraps accessible and warmly told human narratives such as the tale of the dying man who on his last sea trip first realized whales communicated with each other. Thus, The Sounds of Life is filled with a certain kind of wild, brilliant charm that makes it very readable for the scientific and the nonscientific minded alike. * Compulsive Reader *
