How the Zebra Got Its Stripes: Darwinian Stories Told Through Evolutionary Biology

Grasset, the charismatic personality behind the YouTube series Dirty Biology, takes to print with a collection of short essays that address the whys of the wild as well as the influence humans can have on animal behavior. He adopts a breezily entertaining approach that avoids flippancy, aiming to popularize evolutionary biology. Grasset also clearly communicates the core point that explanations are not always simple. Careful observation of natural phenomena often yields clues that override widely shared ideas, such as elephants having graveyards, or reveals the multiple methods by which a biological feature can offer advantages, such as zebra stripes helping to dissipate heat, deter flies, and discourage predators. Grasset discusses the relationships between animal and human behaviors, whether by actual interaction, such as cub-killing sprees provoked by lion poaching, or by analogy, as with the similar simple rules that govern the group self-organization of schooling fish and clapping concert audiences. Small illustrations are adequately placed, if largely unnecessary, and a central eight-page spread of wildlife shots adds little value. Grasset stays true to his format, which allows the book to be read in small bites but leaves some of the essays, such as his musing on his love for the honey badger, feeling a bit disconnected from the rest. Illus. Agent: George Lucas, InkWell. (May)