An awe inspiring exploration of the sounds of the living Earth and the joys and threats of human music language and noise A symphony filled with the music of life fascinating heartbreaking and beautifully written ELIZABETH KOLBERT author of The Sixth Extinction Sounds Wild and Broken affirms Haskell as a laureate for the earth his finely tuned scientific observations made more potent by his deep love for the wild he hopes to save NEW YORK TIMES Wonderful a reminder that the narrow aural spectrum on which most of us operate and the ways in which human life is led blocks out the planet s great orchestral richness GUARDIAN We live on a planet alive with song music and speech David George Haskell explores how these wonders came to be In rainforests shimmering with insect sounds and swamps pulsing with frog calls we learn about evolution s creative powers From birds in the Rocky Mountains and on the streets of Paris we discover how animals learn their songs and adapt to new environments Below the waves we hear our kinship to beings as different as snapping shrimp toadfish and whales In the startlingly divergent sonic vibes of the animals of different continents we experience the legacies of plate tectonics the deep history