The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants

“Can we mobilize digital tech to fight back against biodiversity loss? The Sounds of Life gives us a rare gift: hope in a time of environmental emergency.”—Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything

“Beautifully written, thoroughly researched, and packed with insight. A wonderful invitation to expansive listening.”—David George Haskell, author of Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction

“The whole world is communicating and singing. Even plants are in on the conversation. This astonishing book will forever change the way you hear the world. More important, it will make you a better listener. Karen Bakker’s writing and storytelling are fully up to the subject, and her scholarship is impeccable.”—Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel and Becoming Wild

“The Sounds of Life is an ode to the symphonies below our feet, hidden in the skies and beneath the water, and singing to us across hills, valleys, and forests. Come encounter how the best of science can listen in to our planet and help us become the ancestors future generations need us to be.”—Éliane Ubalijoro, Global Hub Director, Canada, Future Earth

“This book harmonizes ancient wisdom with contemporary research about the sounds of life. In clear and compelling prose, Bakker reveals how Indigenous knowledge mingles with cutting-edge scientific inquiry to deepen our understanding of life’s rhythms. If whales, fish, bats, turtles, plants, and bees could write endorsements, I think they would highly recommend this book.”—John Borrows, University of Victoria

“The Sounds of Life is a fascinating and engaging read for scientists and the general public alike. The book is meticulously researched and illuminates the captivating world of natural sounds, many of which evade the human ear.”—Holger Klinck, K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell University