The Fish and the Frogs tells the story of animals and the researchers who studied them on three continents. It reports a bit about how science is done, but focuses more on why it is done. We generally do not just study organisms because they are useful to humans. We investigate their lives because they are beautiful and intriguing, and only secondarily because of the possible direct uses we might make of them. It is an example of what Edward O. Wilson called biophilia. Fishing and keeping pets started Bill Magnusson′s interest in fish and frogs, and this led him to be a researcher and an admirer. He wrote this book in the hope that it might stimulate young people to follow a similar trajectory.

Young biologists, fish and amphibian hobbyists, people interested in scientific method.