Kevin Canfield, The Minnesota Star Tribune

David Stipp’s “Why Rats Laugh & Jellyfish Sleep” is a breezy ode to nature’s long game.

The respected science expert’s beautifully written book celebrates the adaptive ingenuity of animals whose traits have evolved over millions of years. That includes us — though humans are, at best, supporting characters in the book. Perhaps that’s as it should be.

Stipp writes that he aims “to provoke and delight.” With carefully documented chapters about methodical earthworms, giddy rodents and birds that watch for predators while sleeping with one eye literally open, he hits his goal. Meanwhile, his book works as the subtlest of manifestos, a showcase for “the treasures we stand to lose” unless we do more about climate change.

His enthusiasm is wide-rangi

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