The Genius Bat: The Secret Life of the Only Flying Mammal

by Yossi Yovel

An awe-inspiring tour of bat world by the world’s leading expert

With nearly 1500 species, bats account for more than twenty percent of mammalian species. The most successful and most diverse group of mammals, bats come in different sizes, shapes, and colors, from the tiny bumblebee bat to the giant golden-crowned flying fox. Some bats eat fruit and nectar; others eat frogs, scorpions or fish. Vampire bats feed on blood. Bats are the only mammals that can fly; their fingers have elongated through evolution to become wings with a unique super-flexible skin membrane stretched between them. Their robust immune system is one of the reasons for their extreme longevity. A tiny bat can live for forty years.

Yossi Yovel, an ecologist and a neurobiologist, is passionate about deciphering the secrets of bats, including using AI to decipher their communication. In The Genius Bat he brings to vivid life these amazing creatures as well as the obsessive and sometime eccentric people who study them–bat scientists. From muddy rainforests, to star-covered night deserts, from guest houses in Thailand, to museum drawers full of fossils in New York, this is an eye-opening and entertaining account of a might mammal.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Animals, Nature, Biology, Environment, Science Nature

320 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 7, 2025

About the author

Yossi Yovel is an ecologist and a neurobiologist – a rare combination of disciplines. A professor at Tel-Aviv University and the head of the School of Neuroscience, he has conducted research all around the world, using an arsenal of methods and equipment. His work has been covered by major media outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Economist, NPR, BBC, and National Geographic. A sought-after public speaker, he is currently a visiting scholar at McGill University in Montreal.

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, The Genius Bat, by Yossi Yovel, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I have never been a fan of bats, but the author Yossi is fascinated by bats. I did not realize how many different types of bats there are. This is an interesting read on bats, I learned a lot about them.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a self-proclaimed bat lover, I was thrilled to receive this ARC. Bats have always fascinated me, and I've always found it interesting just how each species of bat differs from the next. This book offered great insight on different species of bats, how they're researched, and ended on a note about bat conservation that left me thinking about bats I've encountered and my previous knowledge of them. However, it is very science-dense— if you do not think in-depth explanations of the mechanics behind experiments and their findings are interesting, this may not be the book for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 🦇

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always think it is interesting to learn more about the animals in the world around us, especially if little is known about them or they are misunderstood. Bats certainly fall into the latter category, so I decided to read Yossi Yovel’s The Genius Bat.

There were parts of the book that were interesting, but it felt like just as much of the book was focused on the community of people that research bats, and the various experiments that Yovel was a part of. I think it’s great that he points out that not all experiments are successful, either because they failed or because they’re inconclusive. But I go back to the fact that I picked up this book to learn about bats, not read about the adventures and anecdotes of the people who study them.

When he is focused on the bats, much of the book is heavily focused on echolocation. To be fair, this is a trait while not entirely unique to bats, is one that many of them specialize in that makes the trait stand out for the species. But, with the exception of one type of fruit bat, none of the fruit bats utilize it, putting a heavy emphasis on something throughout the course of the book that many bats don’t actually utilize. I wish that there had been more about their biological makeup, habitats, and even the history of their relationship with humans.

Yovel also has what was for me the very distracting habit of going back and forth between two storylines within a single chapter and the only thing they share in common is bats. Chapter 12 for example, which is titled ‘On Bat Diseases’ goes back and forth between people in Yovel’s home country of Israel fighting about cutting down trees that attract bats, which has nothing to do with disease, and the “white-nose syndrome” infecting little brown bats in the United States, which is absolutely on the mark with the title.

I think there are pieces of the book that are good, and parts of the last few chapters that show how humans need to think about how the way they change the environment has an impact on bats, and look for a way to positively coexist. But I don’t think it reads cohesively, it spends too much time on humans doing research, it occasionally veers off topic altogether to look too deeply into adaptations of prey, and focuses too heavily on echolocation.

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable in the field finds all of these things a great way to have a well-rounded story about bats and the people who love them, but I was looking for a more well-rounded exploration of the species itself.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Mikala]

*The Genius Bat* left me feeling blind as a bat. The book reads like a hybrid of doctoral thesis, lab gossip and travel blog. That is so much raw material to build endlessly entertaining and engaging writing from and yet the combination ultimately falls flat. Despite the potential for a compelling narrative, it ends up as a disjointed collection of facts and events. Even the most extraordinary stories are presented in a way that fails to animate them for the reader.

The author’s expertise in the history and practice of bat research is undeniable. However, I found myself wishing for stronger editorial guidance to shape these insights into an overarching storyline. Instead, it’s like you’re the partner living with a grad student getting drips and drabs of research breakthroughs, conference highlights and scattered inside jokes. But there’s never enough to fully understand the bigger picture. I kept hoping for a cohesive thread to tie the material together, but that clarity never came.

The technical details are clearly and accessibly explained, making aspects of bat research understandable for any reader. Sadly, the galley version I received didn’t include the oft-referenced photos of adorable bat faces, which I was longing to see.

[delia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love non-fiction about niche topics but this one didn’t keep me hooked. There’s lots of interesting information presented but I found the structure disorganized and hard to keep track of. DNF around 25% as I knew at this point I knew it wasn’t my thing.

Thanks to netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Kacey/Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic and informative book. Finding out about how all different types of bats live, eat, and procreate is amazing. The studies done really bring the history and future lives of bats to reality. Bats are curious creatures and great for our natural habitat and environment. We need to as a society encourage them and help them to survive.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love bats but don’t know as much about them as I might like, and I learned a lot from this book (Chapter 11 had a rather … interesting … revelation - of the subject of a paper by Gareth Jones). I received an Uncorrected Digital Galley from NetGalley (for which I am grateful but sad it didn’t have any photos … “[see photo insert]” instead of a photo).

Amidst all of the great information in here, we are treated to a lot of temporal (and geographical shifts) - the author talks about something in his research, then jumps to one of the famous-to-the-world-of-chiroptery … and interesting if only to me, that word is oddly not commonly used … and his (almost always male) research but we don’t always find out when that is happening until a later published paper is mentioned and dated. Then back again. I like learning about niche research and even niche-ier researchers. “[Gareth] Jones has served as a Ph.D. advisor to some sixty doctoral students (that's a lot in our world), and his research spans a huge range of fields— perhaps a wider purview than any other bat researcher.” And I was quite pleased to learn of bat conservation efforts. I lived in Texas for 14 years (not from there, never from there) and made the trip to Austin to see the Congress Avenue Bridge bats at dusk. I did not know that conservation was not the goal some forty years ago when the bats took up residence under the arches. Thank you, Merlin Tuttle for changing that.

Now, I thought some of the casual drops betrayed the “genius” moniker - one researcher thought he had eaten a bat when a child? Others were shooting bats to examine their stomach contents? It’s not all like that, mostly not all, really, but those examples and a few others were presented not in literary shock; rather, “oh, well, stuff happens”.

And then,
“His [Gerry Carter] great dream is to create a "cheater" vampire [bat, of course] who never reciprocates, never returns a favor, not even to her friends. He expects that this type of individual will gradually begin to lose any social connections that are not reciprocated. The observation of such partner losing behavior should convince anyone who is still skeptical about reciprocal altruism in vampires.”

That seems rather cruel. In so many of the stories we are shown that bats have (at least some) intelligence, why do that to them?

“As a bat researcher, you can’t lose your cool when bitten. Briskly shaking your hand, as the brain implores you to do, may cause the bat to flee but it won't advance your research. You have to remain calm as your finger is crushed between the bat's sharp fangs and try to patiently extract it. One of the oldest techniques is to blow strongly on the bat's face, and then pull your hand away quickly when it relaxes its bite for a moment.”

Don’t shake your hand. Right. That's bad. Okay. All right. Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon. (Seriously… good tip!)

For those who don’t science: “Contrary to popular conception, scientists rarely decide to precisely reenact an experiment conducted in another laboratory and whose results have already been published. Such an experiment is usually considered a waste of time and resources. If the results of the original experiment are reproduced, then there's nothing new to report, and the original researchers will forever retain credit for it. If the results are not reproduced, this sometimes is tantamount to a declaration of war, and few scientists are keen on launching a war whose results are unknown.”

This is wild: “The fact that bats change the rate of their emissions when zeroing in on insects was a strong indication of the use of echolocation for hunting purposes. In fact, this ability to change the rate is one of the tools that makes them such efficient hunters. It enables bats to adjust the rate of information collection to the task at hand.”
Admirable. Reduce the rate of incoming information, along with bat adaptation resulting in Doppler Shift Compensation

Good book.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this new look at a creature famous from myth, one that sucks blood, is taken in form by vampires, a creature more feared than most, and yet is mostly misunderstood, a creature that fascinates many in science, including the author of this book.

A few years ago I had a cat Moira who was eighteen and not doing well. I was used to her sleeping most of the time, helping her find the litter box, and becoming more and more particular in her diet. One night though, Moira was on. Pacing the house, tail a flicker, jumping up on furniture and seemingly on watch for something. My first thought was that this was the end, a little bit of energy before her final sleep. Until a heard a flutter and a noise, and my little home had a bat in it. After a long chase, involving a butterfly net, a piece of cardboard, and an eighteen year-old cat acting like a kitten, I was able to trap the bat, and well throw it outside. There was something primal in my fear, and my fear that my Moira would catch the bat and die of rabies. Under the net though was a creature even more scared than me. And one that took quite a bit of time to climb out from the net when I threw everything outside. That was my only interest in bats, something that even my love of Batman, vampires and spooky houses and caves never made me want to know more about. After reading this book, I realize I have been missing out. And I want to know more. The Genius Bat: The Secret Life of the Only Flying Mammal by Yossi Yovel is an examination of bats, how humans study them, and more importantly the people that give their time, and lives, to finding out why these flying things do the things they do.

The book begins with a story about the desert, small bats, and designing and attaching small GPS systems to bats to find where they eat, and how they travel at night. This sets the scene for the book for the author, an ecologist and a neurobiologist clears up a few long standing myths about bats, they can walk, and climb with their hands, sometimes pretty fast, and an idea on the people who find them interesting. From there we learn things that most people know, about vampire bits, about the bats use of echolocation to find food, to get around, and a lot of new information. Bats can see. They have harems, the have to prove themselves almost all the times to their female mates. Bats have a language, a section that is quite well presented in how they learned this, and the experiments involved. Yovel also writes about bat researchers, many who found bats by chance, and discovered new things and new ways of looking at bats. Yovel travels the world, from deserts to islands available to the Mexican navy, to rainforests, and deep caves, sharing stories about both bats, and those who want to know more.

There are a lot of books coming out dealing with the animal world around us. Many are good, but lack that scientific bent, going more folksy, others are like peer review journals, with lots of facts, but no real sense of style or presentation. I enjoyed this book for its perfect mix. A mix of weird adults, smart adults, but bat people, trying to determine why bats do what they do, and stories about bats dancing to attract mates, using their hands, and much more. Yovel is a very good writer, funny, but very knowledgable, which helps. I learned quite alot about bats, information I can share with my precocious nephew, and enjoyed the book for its scientific and even adventure stories, with profiles of bat people. A very rare mix, that makes for a really good reading experience.

People who are interested in bats will learn a lot, as will people who think about entering the science field, which is slowly disappearing in this brave new world we find ourselves in. A very well-written book, for pretty much all ages, one that is fun, and full of information.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Genius Bat by Yossi Yovel is an excellent book for a general readership with an interest in bats, or nature in general.

For the past few decades bats have become more appreciated, though admittedly not fully. More people find them interesting than when I was young and most of the uneasiness is likely due to the difficulty in truly observing, for non-researchers, bats in a way that lets us wrap our minds around them visially. You can see groups roosting, or they are zooming around, which can make some people understandably skittish. Most of us who have knowingly lived near bats (I say knowingly because most people don't realize how many bats live in their vicinity) come to appreciate them as wonders of nature, even if we don't understand a lot about how they live.

This book goes a long way toward helping us understand them, which means more likely to coexist with them rather than exterminate them. After finishing this book, I was surprised about how much I learned. I'll try to explain what I mean. First, the writing discusses the science of bats, but in plain language with plenty of analogies. We also experience different research trips, each with a specific species and goal in mind. Much of the science is mentioned casually as the foundation for each trip, so we don't feel like we are getting a lecture, just the background for a trip. Finally, all of the stories and shorter anecdotes keeps the book about the interaction of humans, bats, and our shared environment. So the science seems less "out there somewhere" and more "somewhere nearby."

If you're prone, like me, to research a little further, there are a lot of great avenues that are mentioned in the book, though more as explanations than explicit suggestions for your own research. From the beginning I went to Wilson's book on sociobiology and found myself wrapped up in the early debates, and continuing to this day, on the applicability to humans. But there are many works cited as well as mention of various species and locations, so you can find both general articles as well as scientific literature on any that really pique your interest.

Highly recommended for the general reader who enjoys learning about science and nature but doesn't want something that feels like a lecture class. This would be ideal for someone starting out in science and thinking about what path to take. It gives some ideas not just for bat research but how one can turn their interests and curiosity into legitimate areas to study. Giving this book to a high school student might just help them decide what they want to do.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Geo Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love bats. I loved this book. So why no fifth star?

Because at the end of it all, I'm left with the feeling that I don't really know how to describe this book to others. The narrative itself while sort of stuffed into four broad categories (Sociality, Echolocation, Evolution, Nature Conservation) manages to wander about in a way that might put off other readers. Personally, I quite enjoyed this almost information-by-associations-style approach as it kept a lot of the new information feeling fresh and interesting, but for someone who wants a bit more structure a "just the facts" approach, the weaving in and out of the author's personal sojourns in-between cool bat facts could be grating.

I suppose that's the best way to describe this book: it is a lot of really cool bat facts. I also LOVE that Yovel specifically talks about the various areas of research that are still ongoing, something that I think is very important; as a child, I got it into my head that scientists speak so authoritatively on subjects because they have learned all that there is to learn, so there wasn't really anything left to discover. Books like this that make it clear that there is still so much to learn while explaining all that we presently know and how we know it make me happy - if past generations had left a bit more room for wonder like Yovel does in this book, I might have been something of a scientist myself.

But personal musings aside, bats are cool, this is an excellent book to learn more about them, it's a fun book to look at all the cute (and not so cute - somebody help my poor boy the wrinkle faced bat) bats, and if nonfiction isn't your thing, Yovel does just enough to make this feel personable without dumbing down or diluting the information.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for advanced access to this book scheduled to be published October 7th, 2025 at time of writing.

[Danelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not like bats. Which is precisely why I wanted to read this book. The author promises to convince the reader that bats are more than just scary flying creatures. Much to my surprise, he succeeded! Wow! I had no idea how much there is to know about bats, or how many kinds of bats there are. I learned that bats come in different sizes, that some are social and travel in groups, while some would prefer to be left alone. There are bats so tiny they might perch on the end of your nose (I hope this never happens to me!). Some bats screech, some sing, and some honk. Some bats skitter across the ground using the tips of their wings like legs. There are bats that eat fish, although most bats eat insects. I even enjoyed learning more about insects, who have ears in all kinds of strange places. And my hometown of Green River, Wyoming was even mentioned as a great place to find fossilized insects.

The most fascinating thing I learned is that female bats can delay fertilization by storing sperm in their reproductive tract until they're ready to become pregnant. What a convenient and wonderful notion! Although this book was occasionally technical, the author does a wonderful job of talking about bat research in an engaging, interesting way. The often humorous anecdotes about his travel experiences and fellow researchers made the humans in this book almost as interesting as the bats. I still think bats are scary flying creatures, but concede that they are, indeed, so much more than that! An enthusiastic 4 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced digital copy of this book.

[Mariah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bats are interesting creatures with a bad reputation created by fear and I was hoping this narrative would be a fully developed general understanding about bats. This read as some cool bat facts written with praise for lecturers, researchers, and how bats interact across a few locations. There was a consistent boomerang back and forth between different exclamation about points made about bats without research to substantiate the author’s purpose in discussing bats. This narrative is read well as a literature review and career review more than a book that covers everything bats. The narrative needs better structure and a better thesis statement that focuses on everything about bats beyond echolocation.
There were some interesting moments in the book. What really stood out is the way the occupied Palestine conflict was thrown into one chapter of the book. In a book about bats I would find this quite peculiar. There was a mention that they were accused of wanting to toss these bats at Palestinians and how the author would never put bats at risk of their conflict. This was unnecessary and did nothing to serve the book. Furthermore, it is weird to place this midway in the book when we are talking about bats in Trinidad, than South Asia, and then jumped to Israel with no transitions. It was difficult to understand the purpose of why we, the readers, are learning about bats in this way. Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this free advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Read more recommendations, ARC impressions, and reviews onhttps://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com/

[Kate Laycoax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bats are hands down one of the most misunderstood creatures out there: demonized, underrated, and weirdly adorable (some of them look like puppies). So when I saw The Genius Bat, I knew I had to read it. And wow, it turned out to be even better than I expected.

This book is so much more than just bat facts (though it definitely has plenty of those too, like echolocation, diets, reproduction, conservation, all the good stuff). It’s part science deep dive, part love letter to bats, and part history lesson on the brilliant (and sometimes wild) minds who’ve studied them over time. Yovel does a fantastic job blending fascinating research with personal anecdotes and global adventures, making you feel like you’re out in the field tagging bats right alongside him.

What I really appreciated was how much humanity he brought into the story. It's not just “here are the facts,” it’s also “here’s how we discovered them, and here are the people (and occasionally questionable research decisions) that made it possible.” It’s thoughtful, smart, and just the right amount of nerdy.

If you’ve ever been curious about bats, or already love them like I do, then this book is a must read. It's informative without being overly dense, and it's clear Yovel loves bats as much as we do. I walked away from this even more obsessed and with a deeper appreciation for how brilliant and important these little sky puppies truly are.

Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Yossi Yovel, and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this book.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technology has come a long way since Mervin Tuttle wrote his groundbreaking “The Secret Lives of Bats.” “The Genius Bat” is a significant step forward and yet there is still so much to learn. Yovel presents an overview of chiropterology (the science of bats- I learned that term here). It doesn’t go too deep into any one subject, but offers a wide variety of information, from biology, genetics, evolution, fossils, threats, etc. My favorite part, as always, is the ethology. What bats do and how they do it, as well as the author’s personal experiences with these fascinating creatures. Has he been bitten? You bet. How hard is it to trap them? What can you do when a deadly fungus threatens them? Yovel explains the technological advances that have revolutionized the field. He reminisces about the hacks that he and his colleagues had to come up with in order to study their subjects. The successes, mistakes, heartbreaks and anecdotes are all very interesting, and the author introduces many of the people he calls “heroes” for their contributions and support to these flying mammals. The book is maybe a little too long, learning about the careers of all the scientists is interesting, but I was in it for the bats. Anyone interested in learning the most up to date information should pick this up.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/St. Martin's Press.

[QuirkyTofurkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suspect everyone who picks up this book falls into one of two camps: those who already love bats and are eager to know more, or those who hate them—know thy enemy, as they say.

I’m firmly in the former category. While I wouldn’t exactly welcome one swooping into my personal space, I’m more than happy to admire these adorable and fascinating little mammals from a safe distance. My bat knowledge before this was a mix of basic biology classes, a respectable stack of vampire novels, and Ace Ventura, who taught me the meaning of “guano.”

Yossi Yovel starts with the societal structures of different bat species before diving into echolocation, evolution, and conservation efforts (or, more often, humanity’s ongoing attempts to rid themselves of them). Interestingly and ironically, these eradication efforts occasionally aligned with the goals of researchers and provided unexpected opportunities to learn more.

The result is a captivating and humorous exploration of bats and the researchers who have devoted their lives and careers to studying them.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Yossi Yovel for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re looking for a book on bats, this might be for you! Inside, you will find a lot of information on bats covering everything from their roosting habits to their evolution. While there’s almost 1500 species of bats, some good coverage on a smaller selection of bats without touching on everything. I think that if you’re super interested in echolocation, this will be up your alley for sure.

That said, while this book was an interesting read, a lot more time was spent on covering the research community and travels than I expected. I was expecting a lot more information on bats, less echolocation coverage, and less research and travel coverage. I think that it was an enjoyable read, but it was different from what I was expecting. If you’re interested in this book, just know that it’s selective about the bat species covered and that there’s a huge emphasis on echolocation before jumping in. It’s all about adjusting your expectations so you’re not in for a surprise later because I was hoping for more bat species coverage than what was actually covered.

[Christy]

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

i got my degree in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology and chiroptera is my "pet" order so i was excited to receive an arc of The Genius Bat. unfortunately, this was a dnf for me. i don't have field experience so i found some of the more banal insights into that interesting enough. that being said, i found the execution rather disorganized which is one of the reasons i chose to dnf rather than skim the rest – because there wasn't any way to easily locate the topics i might be interested in. my main issue with the book, however, is that it is written in a very simplistic, didactic manner which i found tedious due to my own background in biology. this indicates to me that i am not the intended audience for this book. this is fine, i am pleased that bats are getting some good PR (they are truly marvels of the natural world) and i think this book will really appeal to those who struggle to engage with more "academic" texts – i'm just not that person.

[L & J Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book contained many interesting facts about different species of bats, their use of echolocation, altruistic feeding habits among the vampire bat species that owing to their high metabolism must eat frequently and can starve within a day if they haven’t fed. The downside of this book that these nuggets of interesting information and a little of the science behind how this information was obtained is interspersed by a who’s who in the world of biologists and others who have done work in their field with a mini biography of each one, their mentors, and trivia such as what the author ate for dinner when he was fed up with his usual fare and a whole host of irrelevant information that does not aid the reader in understanding bat biology, which is why I wanted to read this book. I made it about 2/3 of the way through before I gave up.
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Livia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always had a fascination with bats (come on some of the brown cave bats look like chicken nuggets in caves..how can you not find them adorable??) and was excited to see this book pop up. It was a delight to find this book held so much more to it than I thought.

This book holds no shortage of fascinating stories all about different types of bats, facts about everything from what they eat to how they use echolocation, to reproduction, and all the way to conservation.

Beyond learning facts about these creatures, the book holds so much rich information about the notable figures who have studied them throughout time, acknowledging both where and how studies have excelled or fallen flat.

I’d absolutely recommend checking out this book if you have ever been curious or just downright love bats.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Yossi Yovel, and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Kathryn E Hagen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading “The Genius Bat: The Secret Life of the Only Flying Mammal” is like having Yossi Yovel sitting next to you, recounting all the amazing things he’s learned about bats. Yovel could also tell you facts about shrews, moths, and other creatures that you probably never learned in school. He doesn’t limit himself to his own research. Yovel has traveled all over the world for his research and includes what he’s learned from other bat experts.

The book runs about 320 pages but seems shorter. Yovel is someone who loves his subject and wants you to love it, too. He spent over 10 years writing it.

You’ve heard about echolocation, but there’s more. You don’t have to be a bat to echolocate. If you’re a moth, you may have an ear on your chest. If you’re a certain type of male bat, you may nurse your pups.

“The Genius Bat” is a fascinating book and I wholeheartedly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy. This is my honest review.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

A very informative, data-heavy, research-heavy book! I didn't know there was so much more to learn about bats. This is not an easy read. It's dense with information and stories, so if you wanted some quick learning, this is not for you. BUT if you are interested in the history of bats and what kind of studies were done to learn more about them, this is a book for you. Fun facts I've learned:

- Bats are (mostly) altruistic, even to bats they don't know.
- We know a lot about echolocation, but we also don't know a lot about echolocation.
- A lot of female bats congregate in their own community while male bats like to make their own.
- Bats can tell which distance is shorter between two items by a difference of 1.5 cm.
- Bats only reproduce about once a year.

I hope you pick this one up because it was a fascinating book to read!

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this read knowing that bats were my friends because they eat the evil predators known to the unwary as MOSQUITOS, sleep upside down in the day, prowl around looking for food at night, and someone I know used to build a lot of bathouses. Now I am a lot smarter about bats (but they still eat mosquitos) their habits, peculiarities, and how they are able to take their singular place in the ecosystem AND the zoological world. Fascinating for this geek and for lots of non-geeks as well. This is a book easily read by the general public (and fun, too!). It is a really amazing study that I have now preordered for family (besides, I want to see the photos).
I requested and received a temporary unedited digital galley from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.
Pub Date Oct 07, 2025 *****review #BookBub #goodreads #libraryThing #thestorygraph
#TheGeniusBat by #YossiYovel @stmartinspress @NetGalley
#onlyflyingmammal #NonFiction #bats #ecobiology #echolocation #manyspecies #anecdotes

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Join Yossi Yovel, a neurobiologist and an ecologist, to unlock the secrets of one of the most diverse groups of mammals, the bats. The author’s gift of storytelling combined with his scrupulous scientific research work together to create a fascinating picture of bats. Whether the reader is a bat aficionado or someone new to the world of these incredible mammals, the information in the pages of this captivating book is sure strengthen the reader’s understanding of the only mammal with the ability to fly.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.
#TheGeniusBat #NetGalley

[Marsha Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m one of those people that don’t know much about bats other than I like to stay away from them.
I was very pleasantly surprised with all the information in this book about bats. The author did a great job with telling so much about the bats and not making it boring. I have a newfound appreciation of them now. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of bats. I did know that bats eat lots of insects. I cheer them on when they fly overhead in my backyard in the evening.
I’m glad I read this book. It really throws light on how much environment and our encroachment plays into the animal kingdom.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It had enough science in it to satisfy those who are involved in the study of mammals, especially bats, but also included detailed explanations of experiments that were done and why. Bats are amazing creatures. I had no idea there were so many species and that many were indigenous to very specific to regions of the world. The author included many personal stories about studies he was involved in as well as studies conducted by other bat scientists. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in bat behavior, the evolution of bats that use echolocation, the amazing things that bats are capable of doing while flying around in the dark, and learning more about the many wonders of this very misunderstood flying mammal.

[Cindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author, publisher, Source Book and Net Galley for providing an ARC.

This book was offered to rather than me requesting it. I don't dislike bats, but I probably wouldn't have chosen to read this on my own. However, this was an interesting read. The author promises to convince the reader that bats aren't just scary flying creatures. Job well done! I learned a lot about bats with this book, the sizes and temperaments, the sounds they make and how they fly.
This book did get technical at times, but it was well done for talking about bat research in an interesting way.

4 stars, highly recommended to anyone who wishes to learn more about bats, enjoys non fiction about animals or just wants to learn something new.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating in so many ways. Some of the science was over my head as a person with very little background in biology. The structure also could have benefited from some extra headings or ways to denote it was moving from one story to another. Chapters shifted and alternated from the author’s own research and adventures to the history of bat research and experiences of and interviews with other leading experts. If bats were not my favorite animals, I might not have hung in there so well. I still found this interesting, good-humored, and overall a worthwhile read (if a little inaccessible).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for the digital review copy in advance.

Full review to be posted at: cassieetter.com/eclecticallybookish/r...

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much great information on a mammal you’ll definitely want to know more about! I received an advance copy of this book and enjoyed every chapter. The author writes in a style that’s easy to read, easy to understand, and genuinely fun.

I especially loved the stories about the “unique personalities” of the people who love and research bats. You don’t need to be a scientist—or even a big reader of nonfiction—to enjoy this book. Whether you love bats, fear them, dislike them, or just like tequila, you’ll still enjoy reading it and may even fall in love with these important creatures.

Each chapter weaves an engaging story, and as someone from Austin, TX, I especially appreciated the author’s chapter on the Austin bats. Highly recommended!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

“What is it like to be a bat?” asks Thomas Nagel in a famous 1974 article. Well, this book will tell you!
Yossi Yovel’s new book, The Genius Bat, which was ten years in the making, tells the story. He covers echolocation,(of course), evolution, nature conservation and the social life of bats through stories about the world wide research and the scientists who have been working on this since the mid-twentieth century. It’s a fascinating tale.
The physics is clearly explained and he makes you feel a part of the world of bat research.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Genius Bat by Yossi Yovel combines research with a story of his study of various kinds of bats. There are many interesting facts sprinkled in of the overwhelming number of bats that he worked with during his career so far. While this isn't a normal topic for me, I enjoyed each different place and type of bat that he wrote about. How bats survive, mate, find food, live and how immensely far that they fly each night in search of it all. This book is put together very thoughtfully and has a lot of information for those interested in the fascinating world of bats.

Thank you to St. Martin Press for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.