Spineless Wonders, Richard Conniff
Spineless Wonders, Richard Conniff
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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Spineless Wonders
Strange Tales from the Invertebrate World

Author: Richard Conniff

Narrator: Richard M. Davidson

Unabridged: 7 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 06/20/2014

Categories: Nonfiction, Science


Synopsis

With this fascinating book, award-winning journalist Richard Conniff satisfies your cravings for the thrill and horror of formication-that chilling sensation of something crawling across your skin. Blending humor and sophistication, he introduces you to a host of spineless creatures, from moths to leeches, and the extraordinary enthusiasts who study them. For over 20 years, the author has trekked through jungles, oceans, and deserts in search of invertebrates. Off the coast of Florida, he encounters bizarre, giant squid and the scientists who dine on the extra specimens. He chases ground spiders in the Amazon with a collector who keeps 2,000 pet tarantulas. And while covering the invasion of fire ants in Texas, he attends a festival featuring a roundup of the angry insects. Packed with anecdotes and astonishing facts, Spineless Wonders will fill you with a sense of marvel for the thousands of animals who inhabit the invertebrate world. As you hear Richard M. Davidson's dramatic narration, you will gaze on crawling creatures with new respect and appreciation instead of fear and loathing.

About Richard Conniff

Richard Conniff is a National Magazine Award-winning writer for Smithsonian magazine, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and other publications, and a past Guggenheim Fellow. Among his many books are The Species Seekers: Heroes, Fools, and the Mad Pursuit of Life on Earth; Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time: My Life Doing Dumb Stuff with Animals; The Natural History of the Rich: A Field Guide; and House of Lost Worlds: Dinosaurs, Dynasties, and the Story of Life on Earth. Conniff has been a commentator on NPR's Marketplace and a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ed

Nature is almost endlessly fascinating. There is always something new and unexpected to learn (and then to promptly forget). In this particular case, I was most surprised by the extreme diversity of moth behaviors. While this author is not quite as amusing (to me) as Mary Roach or Bill Bryson, he st......more

Goodreads review by David

Spineless Wonders: Strange Tales From the Invertebrate World by Richard Coniff (Henry Holt and Company Inc. 1996) (592.0). Richard Coniff loves creepy-crawlies. He is completely captivated by invertebrates. He hangs his perspective as well as the premise of this book right out front for readers to s......more

Goodreads review by Jason

This was a very interesting book, Richard Conniff has a wicked sense of humour and a love for writing about all things icky. All those creatures you find gross or annoying, wasps, worms, squid, hagfish, spiders and mosquitos all get their own chapter in this book. The book is full of interesting fac......more