A satisfying read that is sometimes a little dense and overly academic.

The subject matter is fascinating and I appreciate that Zuk takes time to show that human expectations are not relevant to the other species when assessing their evolutionary capabilities and advantages.

This book is best suited to those with an academic interest in evolutionary biology and animal behaviour.

**3.75 stars really**
In Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test, biologist Marlene Zuk sets herself the goal of explaining the evolutionary history animal behaviors (especially ntelligence). She starts off by seeing parameters people don't normally think of... specifically that you shouldn't judge a fish by how well it climbs trees. In other words, that you shouldn't judge an animal compared to humans, but instead determine how they evolved to fill their niche and how those adaptations affect the behavior of the organisms. She then DID compare the animals to humans explaining how insights into humans (at least fascile ones) can be gained by understanding what makes animals tick.
Being an evolutionary biologist, Zuk did a great job explaining how the adaptations she discussed arose. She does this through the use of anecdotes to introduce the behavior and explain how it is studied in that organisms. Since he research is primarily in insects, she devoted a good amount of time to this branch of the tree of life (which is sometimes ignored in favor of cuddller beasts). Some of these anecdotes were humorous, all were fascinating and some outright suggested future research topics.
At times, the book felt a bit repetitive in tone (though not in topic). This lead to me taking it in smaller chunck's than i normally would making it seem like a slow read. It never failed to be interesting though.
My favorite portion was in the section "Raised By Wol es" when Zuk discussed a Russian experiment with domestication of foxes. I first read about this experiment decades ago and thought I ideation it. Dr. Zuk, however, brought it into new light and I felt like I not only understood the experiment better, but domestication selection as well.
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a deeper understanding of evolution in general and the evolution of behavior in particular. After reading it, I know that I want to take a class in evolutionary biology from this professor.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.
#DancingCockatoosandtheDeadManTest

I have to admit that my first attraction to Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test was because I live with an Umbrella Cockatoo who does, indeed, dance. I also have a degree in Zoology and studied much of what Marlene Zuks writes about, from the genetic basis for the behaviors of drosophila Melanogaster to Ethology and to learned behaviors (or, how the Cockatoo trains Humans!). So I was looking forward to Marlene Zuk's book.

I wasn't disappointed; Zuk takes the reader through multiple levels and behavior theories and provides the case for many theories. Zuk shows that the basis for behavior can't be explained by only one theory; rather, how each provides part of the answer and how each theory works better if behavior theories are viewed as a whole,

However, Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test is not a light read. Zuk takes time to explain each area of work about behavior and provides citations for each. The earlier chapters can seem as if they were part of an article series in one of the more rigorous popular science journals. The best course for the casual reader would be to take each chapter as a separate reading experience and let the chapters build on each other.

If I were still teaching at the collegiate level, I'd use Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test as a secondary text for an animal behavior course. it's a good companion book to a school text and excellent standalone work on behavior.

Highly Recommended: five stars

This book had the possibility of being very dry and a struggle to get through but happily that is not the case. Zuk writes to entertain and inform, though there is some jargon-y science things that some people might find boring. Interesting study on behaviors and that genes are not necessarily responsible for all of it.

This book offers a fascinating look at animal behavior and how it evolves. It's detailed with numerous anecdotes and a touch of humor. Though it doesn't have a narrative style, it's easy enough to read. I loved how it demonstrated the pointlessness of the nature vs. nurture debate—how the two work together and can't be isolated from each other.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test is by no means an easy read, but it is surely one worth the effort. Marlene Zuk takes a deep dive into the subject to bust the myth that genes are simply the blueprint for behaviour, as she poses the more important question of how does behaviour evolve anyway?

In eleven chapters Zuk walks us through the following topics: What is behaviour? Is behaviour special? What we know about the way behaviour evolves, the idea of “lizard brains” in humans/mammals, how much genes can tell us about behaviour, how much behaviour can change, mental disorders in animals, animals we think are clever vs those we think are automatons, evolution of language, sex and gender, and how behaviour that fights disease can evolve.

Although this book is comprised of somewhat denser material I felt the author had a great tone of writing, as well as the use of some humorous elements to keep the reader engaged. Each chapter is broken up into smaller subsection and the author takes the time to unpack the concept she is trying to explain while providing interesting examples and research to support arguments.

Personally, Chapter 4 on domestication within dogs, Chapter 6 on animal mental illness and Chapter 11 on behaviour and disease were my favourites.

Thank you NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for access to an advance copy to review.

Is behavior innate or learned? Nature vs nurture; genetics vs. environment? Which is the winner? According to this book, neither. It is, as she writes, "the interplay between genes and environment that' important...all attributes, behavior or not, have contributions from both genes and the environment, in a complex way that defies a simple apportionment into percentages of each." She then takes us through a journey through the natural world, from anxiety in crayfish to the evolution of language. She addresses issues from how to define what we mean by the word behavior, how do behaviors evolve, how correlation does not imply causation, and how Human narcissism makes it difficult for even trained scientists to correctly interpret the behavior of non-Humans. The author manages all of this without getting bogged down in technical jargon, writing in an informal style friendly to the lay person. Highly recommended.

I was really looking forward to this one. Overall I really enjoyed it, but a good chunk of it is dense and technical and reads like a textbook.

I read this as an ARC from Netgalley.com.

Zuk, while she doesn't seem to care much for the eternal debate of nature vs nurture (because the answer is "both"), discusses in this book the nature of animals and how genes affect those behaviors. Zuk breaks down this topic starting with defining "behavior" and moving on to whether genes dictate behavior, intelligence and metal disorders, sex and gender roles, and behavior and diseases.

While plenty of the science went over my head Zuk was a very entertaining writer. I found myself chuckling at several points which is somewhat of a rarity for non-fiction books.

This is a fascinating book about the nature of behavior in all animals and how genes influence every creature. The eternal debate of nature versus nurture. Gender roles, parenting, aggression, diseases, mating… every aspect is under investigation here. A big part of this book, including Zuk’s own jaw-dropping discoveries about crickets, was catnip to me (speaking of, catnip also features here). Other chapters were too technical and went over my head. Mostly genetics (which, as much as I try to grasp, I just don’t get). There is also a large content dealing with humans, which doesn’t appeal that much to me but will undoubtedly be of great interest to many readers. In short, it was a little dry for me, even if I learned a lot.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#W. W. Norton & Company!

I enjoyed this book! I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about a wide variety of animals (as well as humans) and who is prepared to read something a little more academic but enjoys a fun and fascinating dive into complicated topics.

I highlighted so many interesting things as I read and there was a lot to tell my friends about. The idea of behavior encompassing so many things that living creatures do ("Behavior is absent in vitality-challenged individuals.") was very interesting. This book will challenge some of your assumptions about animals, go into new depth on things you've heard about, and teach you totally new things. I especially enjoyed the section on animals use of 'medicine.'

Also, I appreciated that specific studies were highlighted and cited. When reading science titles it's nice to know where the knowledge is sourced from, especially when it points out that something I thought was fact is maybe not so much.

The overall prose was really entertaining. I also highlighted a lot of phrases that made me laugh as well as taught me new things. The author made some high-level concepts and research feel accessible.

That being said, I did have to stop in some places to reread. I think there is some general biology background knowledge required for this book and I wouldn't describe it as a speed read. For example, I still don't totally understand heritability but appreciate the author's thorough effort to explain this complicated topic. ("So what is the heritability of having a head? Zero. That is because any variation in head possession can be attributed to environmental factors, such as the preponderance of guillotines.")

One thing to note: The introduction was dry. Once I got toward the end and it described the upcoming chapters, I got more excited to continue reading. The intro had foundational info for the rest of the book but was a little hard to read through.

Lastly, one of my big concerns going into this book was the section on sex and sex differences. I was concerned about whether it would discuss transgender people respectfully. I do feel that it did, although that was not the focus of the section. There was a lot of interesting information about the diversity of animal mating behavior, the complexity of genetics, etc. It continued the book's general theme that genetics, behavior, and the interplay of environment are extremely complicated.

“It’s time to leave behind the tired nature-versus-nurture debate,” Biologist Marlene Zuk exclaims in the opening of her upcoming nonfiction book. It’s a zombie idea she says, one that has been done to death yet springs up again and again. A failure of science’s self-correction mechanisms.

In fact, Zuk argues that not only are they both involved, but they are one and the same. A baby whose genetics prevent the processing of phenylalanine will develop PKU unless their environment steps in to provide the baby with a corrective diet, in which case the baby will not develop PKU. A genetic cause, yet an environmental solution. A genetic issue is the failure of the environment and vice versa. Like space and time, they cannot be separated.

Instead, Zuk offers the question: How does behaviour evolve in both humans and animals? To attempt an answer, Zuk discusses a plethora of sub-questions and adjacent interests. Beginning with defining behaviour, how it evolves and whether genes dictate behaviour; Zuk goes on to tackle animal domestication, mental disorders and intelligence using a broad spectrum of examples, from fruit flies to the bony-eared assfish.

Zuk finishes with chapters on more topical interests: whether gender differences are genetic and how disease-fighting behaviours evolve. All in all the book is a pleasant one. Heavily researched (the reference list makes up a fifth of the book) yet the conversational, leisurely pace is perfect for both curious or casual readers and more learned ones.

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Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters by Marlene Zuk