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Metamorphosis
A Natural and Human History
Brief Description
Beautiful. Entertaining. Inspiring. Nature Startling . . . riveting . . . hauntingly timely. Washington Review of Books A meditation on transformation . . . Warm [and] empathetic . . . wonderful. Science Startling . . . astounding . . . Animated by wonder. MIT's Undark...
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Metamorphosis
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Description
Beautiful. Entertaining. Inspiring. Nature
Startling . . . riveting . . . hauntingly timely. Washington Review of Books
A meditation on transformation . . . Warm [and] empathetic . . . wonderful. Science
Startling . . . astounding . . . Animated by wonder. MIT's Undark
Metamorphosis has always been one of biology's greatest wonders and toughest riddles. To emerge as a butterfly, a caterpillar dissolves inside its chrysalis and builds a brand new brain, wings and legs. Why all this destruction and remodelling? Why all this wasted energy and time?
Oren Harman beautifully unfurls the untold story of metamorphosis across two millennia, asking why it has obsessed and inspired us so profoundly. Along the way we meet poets, artists, philosophers, and a cast of scientists as colourful as the animals themselves: whether Aristotle determining cucumbers had souls, Sigmund Freud searching in vain for eel testicles, or a Japanese zoologist singing karaoke to a baby jellyfish.
Taking us on an exhilarating journey through the creatures that metamorphose—a staggering three-quarters of all animal species—from starfish reproducing in reverse in ocean depths, to poison dart frogs on steaming rainforest canopies, to human adolescents struggling to control themselves, Metamorphosis is a new classic of natural history: a book that, by explaining a mystery of nature, causes us to relearn ourselves.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781399826587
Publisher: John Murray Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 18 June 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: John Murray Publishers Ltd
Illustration: 75 black & white illustrations/photos
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 34.0mm
Width: 130.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 292g
Pages: 416
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