David Scheel has spent decades researching octopuses, and he has distilled his knowledge and experience into this carefully- and lovingly-written book. Much of his focus is on octopuses in Alaska, and their roles in the cultures of indigenous peoples. I always love following scientists out on their fieldwork, especially when it involves animals, and Scheel does not disappoint in this regard. The anecdotes he selects are by turns amusing and fascinating. By this point I've read quite a few books that are about or include octopuses (including 'The Soul of an Octopus' and 'Other Minds'). Indeed, Scheel calls Peter Godfrey-Smith (author of 'Other Minds') his collaborator. As one might expect, there is a lot less philosophy in 'Many Things Under a Rock', but I still found traces of Godfrey-Smith's influence in Scheel's writing and the way he approached certain topics, most of us octopus sentience. This book takes, in my view, quite bold stylistic choices in comparison to many of the books out there now by scientists. Many sections begin with a first-person view - from an octopus, that is. Scheel draws from what must be countless brushes with individual octopuses to recount particular moments or hours or days in their lives, beautifully evoking the sheer wonder of octopus bodies, and inklings of how they might perceive their worlds. Many concepts and findings in this book are not new to me (for example, the way that octopus brain matter is "distributed" across the arms as well as being found in the head) but others were, and I imagine that any reader who hasn't yet read a book about octopuses will find their mind being well and truly blown. If I had to make one criticism, it would be that the slightly fragmentary nature of the sections in the book made me read it slower than I might a nonfiction book with a narrative drive and flow, but in a way, I liked the fragmentary approach. There is so much to talk about it when it comes to octopuses and it must be incredibly challenging for any author to decide how to arrange the material! 'Many Things Under a Rock' entertained and fascinated me aplenty, and I would recommend it to all nonfiction readers.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses’ by David Scheel. For some years I have been interested in octopuses and enjoyed a few novels and other media that feature these remarkable creatures. David Scheel’s book is nonfiction and as the subtitle indicates is a detailed analysis of the natural history of octopuses. David Scheel is Professor of Marine Biology at Alaska Pacific University and has researched the behaviour and ecology of octopuses for more than 25 years. I found this a very accessible book and appreciated how alongside the science and natural history that Scheel included how octopuses feature in the society, culture, and mythology of the Native peoples of Alaska. The quirky title of the book links to this as in the Eyak language, a near-extinct tongue once spoken on the Copper River Delta of Southcentral Alaska, “the word for octopus is tsele:xguh. Broken into its constituent parts, it means literally “rock under many-dwell” or “many things under a rock” … a wonderfully descriptive word, as the eight arms of a single octopus might properly be regarded as many things.“ The book contains a number of line drawings of octopuses by Laurel “Yoyo” Scheel. As expected in a serious work of nonfiction there are extensive notes, a bibliography, and index. Overall, I found ‘Many Things Under a Rock’ an accessible and fascinating book that increased my knowledge of these remarkable creatures.