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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Search for the Giant Squid

     First of all, I love squid and especially giant squid, so I was expecting a lot out of this book. And thankfully, it lived up to my expectations.
     I know there are not a lot of things to know about giant squid, since they are very rare to see in person(alive, at least), and much is not known about their lifestyle at all. Ellis did an amazing job on this book. Each chapter has a main focus(and I have to admit, sometimes it seemed that he did go a bit off-topic), and it keeps it easier to read. There are a lot of names, places, and dates mentioned, and at times it is hard to keep track of them all. I tended to skim over the dates and all, because I do not need to know every single year that a dead giant squid washed ashore, but if you want to know, it's in there!
     I loved the chapter about the mythology of the giant squid. I am very into mythology and such, so it was very interesting to me. Ellis talks about how the giant squid is most likely the basis for the myths and legends of the kraken, and he also says that sea serpent sightings may also be linked to giant squid carcasses. This makes sense because a lone tentacle floating at the top of the ocean could very much look like a giant sea snake to a sailor who has been at sea for months at a time. This whole chapter was very interesting.
     I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in either marine biology or mythology.

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