Kraken: A New Book About The Science of Squid

Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid, by Wendy Williams, is a new book on what is surely the most handsome cephalopod, the mighty squid. Wendy will be doing a reading at Booksmith in San Francisco on April 27.

For hundreds of years, squid—giant, colossal, and otherwise—have been demonized as mysterious monsters of the deep. Even today they maintain a mystique, but scientists are gradually discovering some of their long-hidden secrets. Squid have been the source of some of medicine’s most important breakthroughs, and without them, neurosurgeons would be a little less well trained, obstetricians a little less well informed, and geriatricians much less knowledgeable about the aging process. Squid can help scientists cure Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, develop new antibiotics, and boost the health of babies born by cesarean section.

submitted by Bryan Hermanssson