# An Immense World by Ed Yong

3 Hacker News commenters recommended An Immense World by Ed Yong and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its vivid animal chapters, such as those on bats and eels. The most common caveat is that it is not an easy or fun read.

## Why people recommend it

- Vivid chapters on bats and eels (1 comments): "The chapters on bats and eels are absolutely crazy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49271592))
- Widely praised by recommenders (1 comments): "I keep hearing great things!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49272019))

## What people warn about

- Not an easy or fun read (1 comments): "it’s also not an easy/fun read either" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49903097))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/g-del-escher-bach.md): 47 recommend
- [Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-fast-and-slow.md): 17 recommend
- [Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows](https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-in-systems.md): 17 recommend
- [The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins](https://hackerapproved.com/p/selfish-gene.md): 14 recommend
- [Cosmos by Carl Sagan](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cosmos.md): 13 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593133250?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780593133255) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "An Immense World by Ed Yong", https://hackerapproved.com/p/an-immense-world/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).