Customer Reviews

Every Creeping Thing: True Tales of Faintly Repulsive Wildlife

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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".

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.

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).

THis book is such fun - it teaches in an unobtrusive way, and entertains with wonderful tales of encounters with everyday critters.

Coniff is an easy writer to read and picks engaging subject matter: sloths, bats, sharks, mice, to name a few. This isn't as grim as spineless wonders -- although much of the wildlife contained herein is faintly repulsive -- but it is as interesting. For anyone who can't stomach the latest summer trash novel to read at the beach but can't be bogged down by erudite writers this is perfect.