This book is very well balanced in its representation of parasites and their role in the world in which we live. At a time when there is an alternative medicine craze about evil parasites that are supposedly so prolific that they are the root of all that is wrong with the world, it is nice to read a well thought out analysis of how we are truly affected by the micro-organisms that live within us.

I would have liked more actual pictures, at time the book's text was descriptive, but confusing. Better graphics would have cleared some things up.

Librarians and teachers looking for books for reluctant readers, take note of this title. With facts about fleas, mites and other tiny human-loving insects, this book will fascinate (and gross out) even the most resistant reader. Great for book talks, I've used this title in many school visits leaving everyone scratching furiously and begging for more.

Did you know that fleas are highly specie-specific (e.g., the fleas that prefer dogs don't like cats or people)? Did you know that the lice found on the bodies of people are completely different from the lice inhabiting the head or pubic region (a.k.a. crabs)? Do you care?

Well, I do. This is a captivating book about the many little creatures which make us their home. From the little mites that eat dead skin cells to the various flora and fauna which reside in the digestive system, this book covers the lifeforms, good and bad, which have evolved with us just as we have evolved with them. As the old saying goes, we can't live without them and we can't live with them.

My third grade daughter and I found this a fun and informative book. It takes some of the mystery out of the little creatures we live with.

Indeed, a culture so in love with huge smoking pieces of metal thinks it's "evolved" to the point of no return -- producing this book. Dispeakable in every aspect.

Our culture is killing the planet. Car culture is incredibly destructive of the natural world. Cars, for example, are the main cause of death for the gravely endangered Florida panther. And Knutson makes jokes about cars killing wild animals. Only a culture that has absolutely no respect for the natural world could produce someone who would think roadkill is funny, and would write a book about it. Knutson had a wonderful opportunity to meaningfully explore the horrifying effects of car culture, and chose instead to write this disturbing and disgusting book.

Roger Knutson, a biologist at Luther College, IA, has put together a truly ingenious little book. A guide to the "really most sincerely dead" animals one often sees along streets, roads, and highways. While some may dismiss this book as a parody of other field guides, it is full of accurate, meaningful biological information about animals that frequent roads and roadsides, and that often find themselves smashed into two dimensions.

Is this book funny? Yes! Is it a parody on other field guides? Perhaps.

So, what is this book about anyway? This is a guide to the animal remains left behind after most carrion feeders and decomposers are done with a dead animal. EEEeeewwwww. OK, OK, perhaps it is a bit grotesque, but there is meaningful biological information to be had there.

The book is well written, it is fun, and can be used throughout much of North America.

It makes a great gift for the natualist on your gift list. After all, let's face it, most of us spend more time on the road than we do out "in" nature.

As a biologist myself, I give this book 5 stars for biological content and for the tongue in cheek approach to this somewhat unsavory topic.

Give it a try! Or give it to someone else.