What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins

Same mission — overturn assumptions about animal minds — applied to senses across all species. Builds the same cumulative, chapter-by-chapter awe that Balcombe delivers for fish.

If you loved What a Fish Knows and found yourself Googling 'books like What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe', Ed Yong's An Immense World is the natural next read. Just as Balcombe dismantles the idea that fish are dull automatons, Yong demolishes the assumption that the animal world perceives reality the way we do — revealing how dogs smell in colour, how electric eels sense the world through fields, and how bats 'see' with sound. Both books are driven by rigorous ethology translated into vivid, accessible prose, and both are structured so each chapter adds a new layer of wonder. Readers who appreciate Balcombe's evidence-first approach and his knack for making scientific findings feel personally revelatory will find Yong an equally compelling guide into the hidden sensory lives of animals.

Challenges assumptions about non-human intelligence — for trees instead of fish. Same popular-science format, same 'you'll never look at them the same way' payoff.

Readers searching for 'what to read after What a Fish Knows' will find a kindred spirit in Peter Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees. Both books launch from the same provocation: a living thing we routinely dismiss as simple turns out to have a rich inner life, a social network, and sophisticated ways of responding to the world. Balcombe does this for fish; Wohlleben does it for forests, showing how trees communicate through fungal networks, warn each other of insect attacks, and care for their young. The writing style is similarly warm and enthusiastic — the voice of a true believer backed by genuine science — and the chapter structure moves systematically through different aspects of tree experience, mirroring Balcombe's method. Perfect for readers who love popular biology that forces a fundamental rethink of what 'intelligence' means.

Applies the same 'inner life of an underestimated animal' lens to cats. Blends ethology with engaging narrative, ideal for readers drawn to Balcombe's animal-cognition focus.

If the question driving you through What a Fish Knows was 'what is it like to be this creature?', Thomas McNamee's The Inner Life of Cats asks the same question about one of our closest companions — and turns up surprisingly deep answers. McNamee weaves together neuroscience, field ethology, and close personal observation to show that cats experience fear, joy, attachment, and complex social dynamics in ways their owners barely suspect. Like Balcombe, he translates current research into warm, readable prose without dumbing it down, and both books share a quiet advocacy: understanding these animals better leads naturally to treating them with more care. For readers who finished What a Fish Knows wanting more science-grounded explorations of animal consciousness, this is an ideal next step and a top pick for 'books like What a Fish Knows' covering mammals.