Being A Beast

Product Description

LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2016 Charles Foster wanted to know what it was like to be a beast a badger an otter a deer a fox a swift What it was really like & through knowing what it was like he wanted to get down & grapple with the beast in us all So he tried it out; he lived life as a badger for six weeks sleeping in a dirt hole & eating earthworms he came face to face with shrimps as he lived like an otter & he spent hours curled up in a back garden in East London & rooting in bins like an urban fox A passionate naturalist Foster realises that every creature creates a different world in its brain & lives in that world As humans we share sensory outputs lights smells & sound but trying to explore what it is actually like to live in another of these worlds belonging to another species is a fascinating & unique neuro-scientific challenge For Foster it is also a literary challenge Looking at what science can tell us about what happens in a fox's or badger's brain when it picks up a scent he then uses this to imagine their world for us to write it through their eyes or rather through the eyes of Charles the beast An intimate look at the life of animals neuroscience psychology nature writing memoir & more it is a journey of extraordinary thrills & surprises containing wonderful moments of humour & joy but also providing important lessons for all of us who share life on this precious planet