Kingdom of Play - by David Toomey

Book Synopsis

This "delightful...compelling" (Scientific American) and revelatory look at the science behind why animals play "will fill you with joy and wonder" (Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus).Acclaimed science writer David Toomey takes us on a fast-paced and entertaining tour of playful animals and the scientists who study them. From octopuses on Australia's Great Barrier Reef to meerkats in the Kalahari Desert to brown bears on Alaska's Aleutian Islands, we follow adventurous researchers as they design and conduct experiments seeking answers to new, intriguing questions: When did play first appear in animals? How does play develop the brain, and how did it evolve? Are the songs and aerial acrobatics of birds the beginning of avian culture? Is fairness in dog play the foundation of canine ethics? And does play direct and possibly accelerate evolution? Monkeys belly flop, dolphins tail-walk, elephants mud-slide, crows dive-bomb, and octopuses bounce balls. These activities are various, but all are play, and as Toomey explains, animal play can be defined as a distinct behavior that is ongoing and open-ended, purposeless and provisional--rather like natural selection. Through a close examination of both natural selection and play, Toomey argues that life itself is fundamentally playful. A "lively, informative, and scientifically entertaining animal behavior study" (Kirkus Reviews) Kingdom of Play is an illuminating--and yes, playful--look at a little-known aspect of the animal kingdom.

Review Quotes

"Delightful . . . Toomey makes a compelling case that not only does play offer advantages in natural selection and serve as a potential generator of animal evolution, but the innovation it sparks may even help primates like us influence our own evolution." -Scientific American "Wry . . . In the end, the belief that animals are no less complex and mysterious than humans prevails in Kingdom of Play. Toomey understands that if we always reduce play to some form of utility, we are returning animals to the status of automatons. As the book winds down, his own enjoyment of the subject comes to the fore." -The Atlantic "Well researched . . . even hardened sceptics will be impressed by the volume of evidence [Toomey] has marshalled in support of the claim that many non-human animals engage in various forms of play. . . . At the heart of this entertaining and thoughtful book is the large claim that life itself is 'in a most fundamental sense' playful. David Toomey touchingly concludes that games-like religious rituals-allow their players to experience transcendence. Tossing a ball for a dog in a park, we step outside of our usual reality-and so does the dog." -Times Literary Supplement (UK)

About the Author

David Toomey is a Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he teaches courses in writing and in the history of science. He is the author of several books of nonfiction, including Weird Life and The New Time Travelers. In his lifetime he has known and played with a great many animals, both human and non-human.