Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses

"In an authoritative and captivating tone, Higgins provides numerous entertaining lessons regarding how information gained from animals can be applied to humans ..."

"For all that it's stuffed with entertaining oddities, Sentient is not a book about oddities, and Higgins's argument, though colourful, is rigorous and focused."

"Higgins skilfully connects these tales from the natural world to the experiences of people with an exceptional sensory repertoire."

"Higgins is a patient guide, and her writing is accessible throughout."

"Higgins's most extraordinary achievement in an extraordinary book may be that in the course of her investigations she seems to have discovered a new sense: the sense of how to write compelling popular science."

"Higgins does a great job at describing scientific studies and their results, and at connecting them to humans, making for a moving and perspective-shifting examination of 'the everyday miracle of being sentient.' Fans of David Attenborough's documentaries or the works of Helen Scales will savor this delightful study."

"You may finish reading it and wish that humans could use that intelligence to stop the destruction of the habitats all of us live in."

"Each of these fascinating reveals, elucidated with scientific fluency and narrative verve, revolve around the central mystery of 'how neural matter gives rise to sensation and sentience.' Higgins' in-depth tour of the senses recalibrates our sense of ourselves, other species, and the singular miracle of life."