A Spotify Editors’ Best Nonfiction Book of the Year 2026!

Beauty of the Beasts is chock-a-block with wonderful scientific and cultural facts. ― Wall Street Journal

Zoologist Jo Wimpenny is out to have some fun in Beauty of the Beasts… ― New Scientist

A charming, entertaining glimpse into the lives of unjustly scorned animals. ― Kirkus Reviews

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Wasps. Snakes. Sharks. Cockroaches. We fear them, loathe them, and kill them without question. But what if everything we think we know about these creatures is wrong?

Drawing on cutting-edge research, Beauty of the Beasts reveals the hidden lives of our most misunderstood beasts: wasps that recognise faces and provide billions of pounds in free pest control, snakes whose venom may hold the key to curing cancer, crocodiles who ‘dance’ to attract mates, mosquitos that pollinate fruits and flowers, and vultures that prevent devastating disease outbreaks. These aren’t monsters – they’re ecological heroes whose intelligence and emotional complexity rival species we adore.

Beauty of the Beasts is a wake-up call: it’s time to confront our human exceptionalism, challenge our inherited biases, and recognize these creatures for what they truly are – not villains, but vital guardians of life on Earth.

Published by Bloomsbury Wildlife in February 2026