No person or subject is sacred in this satirical sampler -- from our leading statesmen:

"A politician is an arse upon
which everyone has sat except a man."

To the world's favorite cities:

"Cambridge people rarely smile
Being urban, squat and packed with guile."

To the season of joy (and humbug):

"May all my enemies go to hell,
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel."

In his foreword to The Devil's Book of Verse, Willard Espy writes, "The soul has few consolations to match an elegantly turned epithet. Mr. Conniff provides us with a whole devil's garden of them..."

The critics also like The Devil's Book of Verse:

"A positive fireworks display of vituperative wit."- Atlantic Monthly

"A joy to dip into when the world is too saccharine for irascible man to bear"
- LA. Times
"I laughed out loud." -Newsday

Conniff's book _Spineless Wonders_ had me fascinated, for the most part. His subject: invertebrates, with about ten different chapters on different creatures, such as leeches, dragonflies, tarantulas, etc. NOT ALL POPULAR INVERTEBRATES ARE COVERED IN THIS BOOK. In fact, if there is not a chapter devoted to your favorite invertebrate, there will be little or no information on that beast. There are many examples. Jellyfish, starfish, bees, crabs, clams, octopuses and lobsters are but a few that Conniff chose not to cover.

If you need detailed information about an invertebrate not covered in this book, or if you need more detail, I advise you to seek out a book on that specific beast. Also, you can look into Robert Barnes' book _Invertebrate Zoology_, but that book...is best used at a public or college library.

On the plus side: there aren't many good books on invertebrates for a general audience, and _Spineless Wonders_ is one of them. Most folks, while they might be able to stomach ten or twenty pages on leeches, don't want an entire book on leeches. In fact, most full length books on leeches, dragonflies, etc. are indeed academic tracts targeted at serious collectors or graduate students and professors.

Conniff's writing is usually lucid and entertaining. He held my attention until the end of each chapter... almost. Still, there isn't much popular writing on invertebrates in general, so _Spineless Wonders_ is well worth a look.

ken32

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!

I have no idea why I picked this book up but I am glad I did for I now take the time to look at the invertebrates that scurry climb or swim about me. Sounds interesting huh? Well, it talked about invertebrates in a way so that even the most mindless of people could understand. I actually learned things that I didn't take the time to listen to or care to read about in science class. I used to tell my Dad to kill that ugly-looking arachnid, but now I beg him to spare its little spineless life.

Based on this book's title and short description, I was expecting "tales" of interesting or unusual animal behaviors or characteristics. Unfortunately, many of the chapters seemed to focus more on the people who study or hunt these animals than on the animals themselves. While many of the chapters were fairly interesting, little unique or fascinating information about the animals was presented. Finally, it was hard to consider some of the animals or their behaviors to be even faintly repulsive (e.g., a bull being used to film a TV commercial).

Conniff clearly has an affinity for the animal knigdom. This elegantly-written, witty---heck, it's laugh-out-loud funny at times---offbeat book is a must-read for anyone interested in animals, humans and their complicated pas-de-deux.

Conniff's prose clips along and he even gives the reader a few eccentric characters, some violence and a bit of weird sex to carry the whole thing forward. The violence is non-gratuitous---who can blame the shark for an occasional chomp on a surfers leg? The characters who seem (indeed, are) eccentric are the people who help us better understand the nature of the snapping turtle, for example, or the cormorant. And then there's the bat sex (a "disco mating strategy"), sloth sex (really, really slow) and porcupine which ends, a biologist tells Conniff, in "hostile screaming." "The wonder is that it ever began at all," Conniff notes.

This is a terrific read that sent me, happily, to Conniff's other book, Spinelss Wonders. I gave both to my high school age son who's interested in a career in the natural sciences and he loved them. Also, the illustrations by Sally J. Bensusen are wonderful.

Richard Conniff has done it again! "Spineless Wonders" was fascinating and informative and I am happy to report that his book "Every Creeping Thing" follows in those same footsteps. From the Introduction where he speaks of our ignorance about the natural world to the epilogue where Mr. Coniff admits that perhaps he has been searching for some "larger, mythic connection" with the natural world the reader will find a whole new world opened up to them. A world so new that it could help strengthen our desire to preserve the very planet we live on.

In this book you will meet Bonifacio de Leon or "Boney" as he is known who studies the sloths of Panama, an animal that is slow but not stupid. Spend some time with David Wingate who is attempting to piece together a tropical paradise known as Nonsuch Island turned into a desert after humans discovered it, all for one bird known as the Cahow. Grizzlies, sharks, porcupines, weasles, even animal actors, this diverse volume is easy to read and understand by people who know absolutely nothing about the natural world, but a complete delight for those of us who work with and around animals. A veritable encyclopedia of information that will enlighten and enhance the lives of those who read it.

Where else can you find out that the Bloodhound is not named for its fondness for blood but rather that it is a reference to the fact that it is one of the first purebreds, the first canine blue blood. That snapping turtles "right now are in the biggest population explosion of their history", yet it is still hard to find them. Most of us are aware that bats use echolocation to find their prey but "according to one theory, tiger moths actually produce a high-pitched sound to jam the bat's sonar", still the bat seems to have the advantage.

I have worked with and educated people about animals for almost 20 years now and both "Every Creeping Thing" and "Spineless Wonders" by Mr. Conniff are now invaluable reference resources and highly prized additions to my own library. Please take some time to read one or both of these books, it will change your whole perception about the planet we live on and why it is important to save "Every Creeping Thing".

If you think the word anectdotal on the cover blurb means entertaining FORGET IT. This is a sociological book and not " romp" through the lives of the rich and famous.

Conniff, in writing this light, well researched book of comic sociology, makes interesting links between his observations in the natural world for National Geographic and his observations of the rich while working for Architectural Digest. Although I think Conniff, on balance, focuses more on the rich than on the parallels between the animal kingdom and the richs' behavior, this isn't a big flaw, at least to me -- I'd rather know a little more about billionaires' lives than a little more about the sex lives of the bonobos. Overall, I'd recommend this book.

Throughout the book, Conniff traces the behaviour of the rich and of various animal species, he shows that territoriality, social hierarchy, pecking orders, and competition for mates aren't just confined to the animal kingdom. Indeed, the natural laws of power and association are two major areas we have in common with our animal brethren.

He notes that the rich, as well as animals, know that power, control of resources and social dominance is what it's all about, despite any of their claims to the contrary. One must be confident, have good posture, walk straight, look people right in the eye, go directly after what one wants, and remember it's all about winning-winning-winning. The richs' influential friends, big houses, glamorous hobbies are all signs of dominance, as is a single-minded determination to impose one's vision on the world.

Conniff also points out that the softer side of domination is that of association. The rich know that "you are who you know." One must make friends shrewdly, cultivate allies, go to the right schools, live in the right neighborhoods, give to socially desirable charities, throw parties and invite all the right people. For humans, social intelligence is as important for survival as navigational skills are for arctic turns. Knowing the right people, places, pleasures - the sorts of things a rich person should know - is the only reliable badge of admission among the rich. And realize that the rich aren't out to impress the masses - the rich want to impress other rich people, not those far down the pecking order. Wanting to impress the masses is like a peacock wanting to impress a dog.

Finally, Conniff explores the age old question, "Is the world inhabited by the rich different?" Of course there are more comforts; the rich enjoy what the world has to offer, and family dynasties give heirs a sense of continuity and tradition. But the downside is that although wealth might not change you, it most surely changes the way people treat you. The rich are used to people sucking up to them, and expect but are suspicious of being flattered by their servants, friends, and potential allies. Also, the rich tend to socialize amongst themselves, and experience a sort of social isolation, going to the same restaurants, vacationing in the same spots, dating other "suitable" rich people, intermarrying amongst themselves. Through all these behaviors, they slowly dissolve anything they have in common with most other people, so being rich can be lonely. They live as birds in gilded cages.

Overall, this was a good light read. Recommended.

Richard Conniff's book is a rare find these days: imaginative, witty, intelligent, informative, clear, engrossing to the very end, and often laugh-out-loud funny. I recommend it highly and look forward to reading whatever the talented Mr. Conniff is planning next.