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The Octopus and the Orangutan (Book) by Eugene Linden Dutton, 242 pp, hardcover, 2002 ~ Reviewed by nanoteuthis ~ Consider the octopus, one of the most enduring and successful designs nature ever perfected. (p. 23) Thus begins the first of two chapters on Octopus intelligence – "The Riddle of the Octopus" and "Octopus Derision, Octopus Decisions" – in Eugene Linden's fascinating book THE OCTOPUS AND THE ORANGUTAN. It is on these chapters that I will focus this review, with a few comments on the rest of the book. THE OCTOPUS AND THE ORANGUTAN, like Linden's earlier book THE PARROT'S LAMENT, is written for the intelligent layperson. Both are as entertaining and understandable as James Herriot's veterinary memoirs, with the...