From medieval bestiaries to Borges’s Book of Imaginary Beings, we’ve long been enchanted by extraordinary animals, be they terrifying three-headed dogs or asps impervious to a snake charmer’s song. But bestiaries are more than just zany zoology—they are artful attempts to convey broader beliefs about human beings and the natural order. Today, we no longer fear sea monsters or banshees. But from the infamous honey badger to the giant squid, animals continue to captivate us with the things they can do and the things they cannot, what we know about them and what we don’t.

With The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, Caspar Henderson offers readers a fascinating, beautifully produced modern-day menagerie. But whereas medieval bestiaries were often based on folklore and myth, the creatures that abound in Henderson’s book—from the axolotl to the zebrafish—are, with one exception, very much with us, albeit sometimes in depleted numbers. The Book of Barely Imagined Beings transports readers to a world of real creatures that seem as if they should be made up—that are somehow more astonishing than anything we might have imagined. The yeti crab, for example, uses its furry claws to farm the bacteria on which it feeds. The waterbear, meanwhile, is among nature’s “extreme survivors,” able to withstand a week unprotected in outer space. These and other strange and surprising species invite readers to reflect on what we value—or fail to value—and what we might change.

A powerful combination of wit, cutting-edge natural history, and philosophical meditation, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings is an infectious and inspiring celebration of the sheer ingenuity and variety of life in a time of crisis and change.

从中世纪的兽皮书到博尔赫斯的《虚构生命之书》，我们长期以来一直被非同寻常的动物所迷惑，无论是可怕的三头犬还是不惧怕耍蛇人之歌的天鹅。但兽皮书不仅仅是古怪的动物学--它们是传达关于人类和自然秩序的更广泛信念的艺术尝试。今天，我们不再害怕海怪或女妖。但是，从臭名昭著的蜜獾到巨型乌贼，动物继续以它们能做的事和不能做的事，以及我们对它们的了解和不了解而吸引着我们。

卡斯帕-亨德森通过《几乎无法想象的生物之书》为读者提供了一个迷人的、制作精美的现代动物园。但是，中世纪的动物志往往基于民间传说和神话，而亨德森书中的生物--从斧头鱼到斑马鱼--除了一个例外，都与我们息息相关，尽管有时数量很少。几乎无法想象的生物之书》将读者带入了一个真实的生物世界，这些生物似乎应该是编造的--它们在某种程度上比我们可能想象的任何东西都更令人吃惊。例如，雪人蟹用其毛茸茸的爪子来养殖它所吃的细菌。同时，水熊是自然界的 "极端幸存者 "之一，能够在没有保护的情况下在外太空坚持一周的时间。这些和其他奇怪的、令人惊讶的物种邀请读者反思我们所珍视的或未能珍视的东西，以及我们可能改变的东西。

几乎无法想象的生命之书》是智慧、前沿的自然历史和哲学冥想的有力结合，是对危机和变化时期生命的纯粹独创性和多样性的感染和激励的庆祝。