Sloths: A Celebration of the World's Most Misunderstood Mammal

by William Hartston

Overview

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." This wonderfully entertaining book 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 behavior.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786494252
Publisher:	Atlantic Books
Publication date:	03/01/2020
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	626,510
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

William Hartston is a Cambridge-educated mathematician and industrial psychologist, and the author of The Encyclopedia of Useless Information.

Editorial Reviews

01/06/2020

Inspired by a YouTube video, Harston (A Brief History of Puzzles), a columnist for the U.K.’s Daily Express, resolved to learn more about sloths, and in this fast-paced, fact-filled book, he provides readers with his findings. Harston covers topics that range from sloth anatomy and reproduction to their appearances in myth and recent resurgence in pop culture. Replete with the energy and excitement of a new-found enthusiasm, the book relates a wide variety of informational nuggets, such as sloth eating habits—determined by their four-chambered stomach and month-long digestive process—and their unusual, and still mysterious, injury-recovery abilities. Harston also sets the record straight on sloths’ proverbial “laziness,” reporting scientists have found that they are merely energy-efficient. Quotations featuring sloths are interspersed throughout, but since these often perpetuate the mistaken conflation of the attribute of slothfulness with the animal in question (Harrison Ford: “The kindest word to describe my performance in school was Sloth”), these tend to seem like space fillers. While far from definitive, this zippy primer has a contagious sense of wonder. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Fascinating. . . . Hartston writes all this with his customary wit and an obvious joy in discovery." —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


"this zippy primer has a contagious sense of wonder." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher