Kraken

March 15, 2011

Did you know that your brain bears a strong resemblance to that of the giant squid and that studying the squid's brain may offer insight into a cure for Alzheimer's? Environmental journalist Williams (Cape Wind) traces sightings of the giant squid throughout the centuries. This sea monster was long dismissed as a legend until a 19th-century naturalist reeled in one of the organism's ten appendages. Discussion of the anatomy, physiology, reproduction, evolution, and taxonomy of Architeuthis is provided, along with accounts of the author's visits to various scientific laboratories and descriptions of research studies being conducted on the animal. VERDICT This volume provides background information to whet readers' curiosity and can be supplemented by Richard Ellis's The Search for the Giant Squid, which is a more comprehensive study. On its own, this serves as a good introduction to the subject for general readers and an inspiration to young people interested in marine biology.--Judith Barnett, Pell Marine Science Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Kingston

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2011
Throughout history, people have feared squids, octopuses, and other cephalopods, describing them as hideous and disturbing. With huge, unblinking eyes, arms connected directly to their heads, lightning-quick stingers, and suckers or teeth where fingers should be, these invertebrates loom as monsters in unsympathetic human imagination. With the ability to camouflage their bodies and to grow new limbs, they seem as far from our kin as any creatures in the animal kingdom. Ironically, marine scientists have discovered that these usually shy creatures have relatively large brains, highly developed nervous systems, and the ability to learn and solve laboratory puzzles, making cephalopods nearly ideal subjects for medical research aimed at advancing treatments for human neurological diseases; just as important, neurosurgeons practice on squid. In this illustrated natural history, science journalist Williams entertainingly recounts her visits with cephalopods and the curious scientists studying them in research centers on both East and West Coasts.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)