The title and the idea drew me in. I wanted to see what the concept of fear would look like when examined from the natural side. The mistake was setting expectations too high.
The book delivers on what it promises (to an extent): a look at different strategies of fear and how it is deployed in the wild and what it looks like to an observer. Also, how it can be applied in some other places. It is divided into a few chapters tackling each aspect, but I felt like mild repetitions could have been pushed together.
As a layperson venturing into this topic for the first time, I hoped for more than I got. The first chapter was fascinating, and there were things in later chapters that caught my eye, but on the whole, there is not much discussion on the reasons for the behaviours. Actual experiments of anti-predatory behaviour and the environments they were carried out are provided, as are the results of these long-term explorations. The writing was clear and not too academic, with personal stories mentioned sporadically. I am guessing for people with a background in the subject, this may hold more, but anyone could read it and understand its content.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Really fantastic read on the evolutionary history of fear, how it biologically functions in animals and continues to live on in humans.

Thoroughly researched. Covering the most up to date research on fear, this book draws from all over the animal kingdom as well as human studies to explain the uses of fear.

This book has full of insights into the nature of fear both in animals and humans. By learning how fear originates and how it influences different aspects of both animals and human lives, readers will find this book worth their time.

It’s interesting how much fear guides us ever day, even when we are unaware of our own motivations. Fear of losing, fear of danger, and related fears for ourselves and others tend to keep us safe but also influence how we treat and judge others. The Giving Up Density (GUD) factor was quite interesting to learn about. I guess patience isn’t always the way to go when you’re faced with the possibility of a larger predator nearby. Reading this book encouraged me to always be aware of my fears and whether they were overshadowing the wisdom of acting alternatively in various situations.

I have two boys, because of that I have gotten into snakes and other creatures I normally would never ever want to know more about! Anyhow, this was an amazing book to help me with my obsessive nature of needing to know more about these animals and their actions. I think the author did an amazing job of researching and showing his thoughts, in this book, instead of just saying something! It was well written, intriguing, and very worth reading, if like me you hope to learn more about nature! While it’s not my normal book, it still kept my interest, and I know one day my sons will both look forward to reading! Hoping the author does more in the future, as he knows how to garner and keep your interest in topics like this! Highly recommend to those fascinated with nature and fear!
Will make sure to buzz it up on the different platforms and use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!

I thought the topic of this book was really interesting. I liked the translation of animal behavior to other applications.