Product Description

A nature journalist travels to such places as Arizona, Florida, and the upper Amazon region, documenting his encounters with the housefly, the tarantula, squid, the leech, the worm, the moth, and other invertebrates. 10,000 first printing.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1275977 in Books
• Published on: 1996-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 222 pages

Amazon.com Review
Leeches, fire ants, dragonflies and mosquitoes; slime eels, giant squids, earthworms and fleas--this gallery of creepy-crawlies is enough to give anyone nightmares. Yet in his new book, Spineless Wonders, author Richard Conniff succeeds in making his subjects interesting if not exactly attractive. Conniff, a journalist, knows all too well that most people do not share his admiration for the invertebrates of the world, and so he sets out to demonstrate just what marvels of engineering they really are. From discussions of just how these creatures are made and how they survive, he goes on to tell stories about the people who study them. From the scientist who ate the only known specimen of a new species to the leech-farmer in Wales, Conniff paints a vivid picture of invertebrates and the people who love them, making even that slime eel seem almost appealing.

From Publishers Weekly
Invertebrates are literally spineless and much maligned. But we vetebrates are figuratively spineless, at least when it comes to the creepy, slimy, hairy horror evoked by that which "represents more than 99.5 percent of all animal species." Coniff (writer and producer of nature programs for National Geographic and the Discovery Channel) humbles us in his wonderfully weird, icky book, for he makes clear that without the fly to pollinate and the worm to till the earth, we would vanish. There is much to learn here: that leeches are being farmed and used medicinally (again); that in Texas, fire ants "frequently get to highway accident victims before the ambulance"; that the squid's mantle, when served up as calamari, is virtually fat free (Coniff even includes a recipe); that dragonflies have been clocked at 35 mph and that 440 fleas can be found on a single cat; that some moths smell so bad spiders set them free if caught in their webs. People are terrified of snakes and spiders, but the mosquito, Conniff tells us, is "the most dangerous animal on earth," spreading malaria, yellow fever, dengue and encephalitis, diseases that often change the course of human history. With humor, Conniff follows various eccentric characters (madly in love with their subjects, be they squid or slime eels) down tarantula's burrows and into dusty collection drawers. He points out that we have researched many invertebrates relentlessly in our effort to kill them off, only to learn in minutest detail what mirculous systems make life live. Readers may feel something crawling up their leg as they read this enlightening and entertaining book. Illustrations by Sally Bensusen. Rights, except electronic: The Spieler Agency.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA. An engrossing, and occasionally gross, peek at invertebrate species. Conniff introduces readers to flies, leeches, fire ants, giant squid, dragonflies, tarantulas, fleas, beetles, worms, mosquitoes, and moths. His unabashed enthusiasm for the joys of formication?"the feeling that ants or other creeping things are crawling over one's flesh"?is sure to draw YAs into the often-bizarre world of invertebrates and the humans who actually delight in their study. Each chapter delivers a plethora of strange facts and figures. In 1912 in Toronto a girl won a $50 first prize for killing 543,360 flies that weighed a total of 212.25 pounds. Invertebrate researchers actually take note of such strange facts as that the fly defecates every four and a half minutes and that some leeches fertilize their mates by depositing spermalophores that "bore through the skin into the body cavity and thence to the ovaries." Conniff shows the world of invertebrates to be as compelling and strange as a science-fiction odyssey. This winning combination of humor, historical facts, and scientific study includes 16 line drawings, and bibliographies for each chapter.?Marianne Tait Pridemore, San Jose Public Library, CA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

A brief survey of some otherworldy creatures living on earth
An entire book about beetles, houseflies, worms, moths, and leeches? With an entire chapter on slime eels--aka hagfish--which burrow into dead fish and consume them from the inside out? You bet. As the author points out, the above-named creatures are but a few of the species that belong to the group of animals known as invertebrates, which not only lack a backbone, but also, pound for pound, far outweigh any other form of life on earth. "There are only 4,500 or so mammal species on the planet. There are, however, between ten million and thirty million invertebrate species. They represent more than 99.5 percent of all animal species. A spaceship visiting the blue planet would take them, not us, as the typical earthlings."

And invertebrates are often far more interesting than us boring old mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Take a fire ant queen, for example, who reproduces so wholeheartedly that her human equivalent would be a 120-pound woman giving birth to 500,000 babies each year. Or how about the mysterious giant squid--at sixty feet long and with eyes the size of headlights, the largest invertebrate alive--who lives five hundred fathoms beneath the ocean waves. (Nobody has ever seen one in its natural habitat.)

So who's the audience? Any adult with a taste for the more slithery residents of earth--or any parents who want to wow their own offspring with bizarre true-life tales of the scaly and slimy. (Twelve-year-olds on up, or ten-year-olds with a deep curiosity for all things gross, should have no trouble with it, either.

A must read for all ages, understanding the planet can save it.
Forget Jack Hannah and his media sound bites which teach you absolutely nothing about other species. This book is a must read for anyone who really wants to learn more about some of the most misunderstood and hated creatures on our planet. Easy to read, entertaining and educational, Richard Conniff spins tales guaranteed to shed new light on the invertebrate world and can be read and appreciated by young and old alike.

Recently I was fortunate enough to spend some time interviewing this talented author and was fascinated with his insight and true depth of feeling for the planet. It is a shame that the media suffers from tunnel vision when it comes to teaching the public about animals. Over and over we are presented with the same information about the same animals which limits our understanding of the importance of bio-diversity. Richard Conniff has worked for both the Discovery Channel and National Geographic and has travelled extensively, and with "Spineless Wonders" and his latest work "Every Creeping Thing" he has achieved what many strive for but very few accomplish.

Hats off to Mr. Conniff and if those talk shows had any sense they would book you immediately and discover what I already have, that you are an incredible resource for information about the relationships between humans and other species

Book everyone needs to read.
Richard Conniff's writing style is fun and easy to read. And although some of the facts he pours into the book may be gross, it's so interesting you are riveted. I think everyone-science lover or no-needs to read this book. I couldn't put the book down until I was done. Just to give you some extra info on what's in the book-he discusses many invertebrates such as flies, hagfish, moths and tarantulas, devoting a chapter to each invertebrate. He includes his adventures with these creatures along with it. Even the hardened scientist will find something new in this book!