The Genius Bat by Yossi Yovel combines research with a story of his study of various kinds of bats. There are many interesting facts sprinkled in of the overwhelming number of bats that he worked with during his career so far. While this isn't a normal topic for me, I enjoyed each different place and type of bat that he wrote about. How bats survive, mate, find food, live and how immensely far that they fly each night in search of it all. This book is put together very thoughtfully and has a lot of information for those interested in the fascinating world of bats.

Thank you to St. Martin Press for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was excellent and extremely informative of the cultural scientific aspect of the life of bats. I loved learning about these mammals and their many different species within the category of bats. The writing style lured me in, like a fish to a worm on a hook. ❤️‍🩹

I loved the idea of the book because I think bats are so fascinating, and, if well-written, books like this can be a fascinating dive into science and nature. The sticking point for me, however, was the science part of it. Yovel makes it too "sciency" for the average layperson, in my opinion. I kept trying to skip through the more rambling sections with mind-numbingly detailed descriptions of experiments, but there was no relief. It was endless, so I finally gave up.

“What is it like to be a bat?” asks Thomas Nagel in a famous 1974 article. Well, this book will tell you!
Yossi Yovel’s new book, The Genius Bat, which was ten years in the making, tells the story. He covers echolocation,(of course), evolution, nature conservation and the social life of bats through stories about the world wide research and the scientists who have been working on this since the mid-twentieth century. It’s a fascinating tale.
The physics is clearly explained and he makes you feel a part of the world of bat research.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m one of those people that don’t know much about bats other than I like to stay away from them.
I was very pleasantly surprised with all the information in this book about bats. The author did a great job with telling so much about the bats and not making it boring. I have a newfound appreciation of them now. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of bats. I did know that bats eat lots of insects. I cheer them on when they fly overhead in my backyard in the evening.
I’m glad I read this book. It really throws light on how much environment and our encroachment plays into the animal kingdom.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a very informative book about bats. Bats are such a large and interesting group of mammals! The Genius Bat delves deep into the current research about bats: how they communicate, how they use echolocation, and how they help each other, among other topics. I liked the authors writing style; despite reporting on scientific research and findings, the tone was conversational and easy to read. Anyone who is curious about bats or about how animals live will find this book fascinating! Thank you to NetGalley for and advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.

The Genius Bat left me feeling blind as a bat. The book reads like a hybrid of doctoral thesis, lab gossip and travel blog. That is so much raw material to build endlessly entertaining and engaging writing from and yet the combination ultimately falls flat. Despite the potential for a compelling narrative, it ends up as a disjointed collection of facts and events. Even the most extraordinary stories are presented in a way that fails to animate them for the reader.

The author’s expertise in the history and practice of bat research is undeniable. However, I found myself wishing for stronger editorial guidance to shape these insights into an overarching storyline. Instead, it’s like you’re the partner living with a grad student getting drips and drabs of research breakthroughs, conference highlights and scattered inside jokes. But there’s never enough to fully understand the bigger picture. I kept hoping for a cohesive thread to tie the material together, but that clarity never came.

The technical details are clearly and accessibly explained, making aspects of bat research understandable for any reader. Sadly, the galley version I received didn’t include the oft-referenced photos of adorable bat faces, which I was longing to see.

I must confess I am biased, I love bats! That being said, I enjoyed this book very much, I found it fascinating and learned so much about bats. I will definitely be purchasing a hard copy for my shelves.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for providing an E- Arc.

I really did not know much about bats before this book. I would say it has a ton of information but it's not told in a boring text book way, which was appreicated.

I always think it is interesting to learn more about the animals in the world around us, especially if little is known about them or they are misunderstood. Bats certainly fall into the latter category, so I decided to read Yossi Yovel’s The Genius Bat.

There were parts of the book that were interesting, but it felt like just as much of the book was focused on the community of people that research bats, and the various experiments that Yovel was a part of. I think it’s great that he points out that not all experiments are successful, either because they failed or because they’re inconclusive. But I go back to the fact that I picked up this book to learn about bats, not read about the adventures and anecdotes of the people who study them.

When he is focused on the bats, much of the book is heavily focused on echolocation. To be fair, this is a trait while not entirely unique to bats, is one that many of them specialize in that makes the trait stand out for the species. But, with the exception of one type of fruit bat, none of the fruit bats utilize it, putting a heavy emphasis on something throughout the course of the book that many bats don’t actually utilize. I wish that there had been more about their biological makeup, habitats, and even the history of their relationship with humans.

Yovel also has what was for me the very distracting habit of going back and forth between two storylines within a single chapter and the only thing they share in common is bats. Chapter 12 for example, which is titled ‘On Bat Diseases’ goes back and forth between people in Yovel’s home country of Israel fighting about cutting down trees that attract bats, which has nothing to do with disease, and the “white-nose syndrome” infecting little brown bats in the United States, which is absolutely on the mark with the title.

I think there are pieces of the book that are good, and parts of the last few chapters that show how humans need to think about how the way they change the environment has an impact on bats, and look for a way to positively coexist. But I don’t think it reads cohesively, it spends too much time on humans doing research, it occasionally veers off topic altogether to look too deeply into adaptations of prey, and focuses too heavily on echolocation.

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable in the field finds all of these things a great way to have a well-rounded story about bats and the people who love them, but I was looking for a more well-rounded exploration of the species itself.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'll be wholly honest: I kind've applied for this on a whim, but oh, did I enjoy it. Bats are so fascinating and this was a lovely dive into their research!

This was a very well-written, interesting book. I have always liked bats but I learned a lot about them through reading the Genius Bat. I had no idea there were so many different species! Nor did I realize the depths that researchers go when observing them in the wild.

I received a free copy of, The Genius Bat, by Yossi Yovel, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I have never been a fan of bats, but the author Yossi is fascinated by bats. I did not realize how many different types of bats there are. This is an interesting read on bats, I learned a lot about them.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Join Yossi Yovel, a neurobiologist and an ecologist, to unlock the secrets of one of the most diverse groups of mammals, the bats. The author’s gift of storytelling combined with his scrupulous scientific research work together to create a fascinating picture of bats. Whether the reader is a bat aficionado or someone new to the world of these incredible mammals, the information in the pages of this captivating book is sure strengthen the reader’s understanding of the only mammal with the ability to fly.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.
#TheGeniusBat #NetGalley

Exactly what it says on the tin. A wonderful exploration of bats that's both detailed and interesting. This book help my attention the entire time, and opened a new world for me. Who knew bats could be so interesting?

A very informative nonfiction book that looks at so many different aspects of bats from their eating, where they live, etc. It is an accessible nonfiction book good for both people who know nothing about bats and those that do. It left me wanting to learn more about bats and the different research studies they have been a part of.

Bats are hands down one of the most misunderstood creatures out there: demonized, underrated, and weirdly adorable (some of them look like puppies). So when I saw The Genius Bat, I knew I had to read it. And wow, it turned out to be even better than I expected.

This book is so much more than just bat facts (though it definitely has plenty of those too, like echolocation, diets, reproduction, conservation, all the good stuff). It’s part science deep dive, part love letter to bats, and part history lesson on the brilliant (and sometimes wild) minds who’ve studied them over time. Yovel does a fantastic job blending fascinating research with personal anecdotes and global adventures, making you feel like you’re out in the field tagging bats right alongside him.

What I really appreciated was how much humanity he brought into the story. It's not just “here are the facts,” it’s also “here’s how we discovered them, and here are the people (and occasionally questionable research decisions) that made it possible.” It’s thoughtful, smart, and just the right amount of nerdy.

If you’ve ever been curious about bats, or already love them like I do, then this book is a must read. It's informative without being overly dense, and it's clear Yovel loves bats as much as we do. I walked away from this even more obsessed and with a deeper appreciation for how brilliant and important these little sky puppies truly are.

Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Yossi Yovel, and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this book.

I have always had a fascination with bats (come on some of the brown cave bats look like chicken nuggets in caves..how can you not find them adorable??) and was excited to see this book pop up. It was a delight to find this book held so much more to it than I thought.

This book holds no shortage of fascinating stories all about different types of bats, facts about everything from what they eat to how they use echolocation to reproduction and all the way to conservation.

Beyond learning facts about these creatures, the book holds so much rich information about the notable figures who have studied them throughout time acknowledging both where and how studies have excelled or fallen flat.

I’d absolutely recommend checking out this book if you have ever been curious or just downright love bats.

I had a hard time finishing this. It just felt super slow and I didn’t have a whole lot of motivation to read it.

I believe that this book would be perfect for a college level Biology major. While I enjoyed learning about the differences in the bats and their regions, I found it too centered on the research and the researchers for someone like myself that has had a lifetime respect for bats and their habitats. The book is extremely detailed, almost unnecessarily so.
This book would make an extraordinary textbook, Thank you to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity of reading and reviewing this book.