Spineless Wonders: Strange Tales from the Invertebrate World

by Richard Conniff

Describes unusual physical and behavioral characteristics of such creatures as worms, fleas, spiders, squid, earwigs, cockroaches, leeches, and mollusks

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Animals, Biology, Science Nature, Natural History

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Richard Conniff, a Guggenheim Fellow and winner of the National Magazine Award, is the author most recently of House of Lost Worlds: Dinosaurs, Dynasties, and the Story of Life on Earth. He writes for Smithsonian and National Geographic and is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, and a former commentator on NPR's All Things Considered. His other books include The Natural History of the Rich, Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time, and The Species Seekers. He lives in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Reviews

[Jaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading this book on and off for a while now.

I wish I never read the chapter about houseflies.
In the chapter on SLIME EELS (a.k.a. hagfish ) the author states the eels are more disgusting than houseflies.

A quote from the book,
"Having cleaned itself, Martini's slime eel swam around the tank with its outraged head just above the surface.
"There you see the adorable little piggy face," Martini commented.
In truth, what struck me at the moment was not its adorable pigginess, but the slime eel's unmistakable potential for human psychosexual trauma. "

I leave you there.

[Ed Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 still keeps the stories fun.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 see. It's right there in the last sentence of the book's introduction on page eight: “I console myself with thoughts of invertebrates, which I have come to recognize as the little things that really run the world.” This volume is at heart a meditation on the ugly, the irrelevant, and the ordinary. Featuring essays on flies, leeches, dragonflies, worms, spiders, hagfish, and mosquitos (among others), there will be something here to fascinate each reader, just as there will be something to disgust the reader as well. Here is a fact from the chapter about mosquitos and the spread of malaria and yellow fever that I'm pretty sure I never heard mentioned in a U.S. History class: “When France sent 33,000 men to secure its control of the Mississippi Valley in 1802, yellow fever killed 29,000, leading directly to the Louisiana Purchase, in which the United States bought, at a fraction of its worth, the entire territory from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains.” Spineless Wonders, p. 155. My rating: 7/10, finished 6/23/18.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ready for some really creepy, bizarre, and fascinating stories? This book is packed with incredible stuff - and it's all true. Starting with the common housefly and ending with slime hags (ewww!), this takes various different "spineless wonders" and presents them in all their weird glory.

I was extremely glad to discover that fire ants are not likely to become my near neighbors, reminded again of why I *hate* mosquitoes, and found out what it takes to study beetles in the jungle. My favorites were the dragonflies - I just think they are beautiful - and the giant squid.

Even weirder than the creatures, though, are the people who study them. From the guy with a stained glass picture of a flea (no joke) to the researcher who pulled a gun on a fellow beetle enthusiast, these folks are odd. Imagine being married to the leech fancier. He had tanks and tanks of leeches in a barn. He didn't even make any money on them. But now, thanks to his research, pharmaceutical companies are scrambling to be the first to buy his discoveries and market the drugs based on what he has learned. Not bad, right?

This one was fun to listen to in the car with my son.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 facts, how often a fly takes a dump, the most complex penis in the world and just how much slime a hagfish can produce.

Coniff is an entertaining writer but the book is still missing something, he doesn't have that passion for the animals that other nature writers have and because of this every now and then the writing gets a bit bogged down in facts. The chapters are also too short, books focusing on just the one animal/specie work much better, the reader can really get to know an animal that way. This book is a good introduction though.

I'd still recommend giving this fun book a read.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this an informative book written in an easy to read style about the less cuddly creatures around us. This is not a academic book but one that is appealing to the average reader who just wants general knowledge about the invertebrates that share the space we all live in. I like the anecdotal stories and that the author visited the "experts" in the field and some on in the field experience, in addition to undertaking research by reading previous works on the topics. Its a fun book which I enjoyed reading and I would recommend it.

[Audrey Sauble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book might be best defined as a middle-grade gross-out book . . . for adults. Each chapter focuses on a specific family of invertebrates, from relatively tame tarantulas and dragonflies to the outright disgusting leeches and hagfish. I found it fascinating and would recommend the book for anyone who loves bugs and isn't too squeamish when it comes to picking their reading material.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed . The author focused each chapter on a different creature, making it easy to stop and start whenever you could. I felt he intentionally focused on Gross or disturbing aspects of the animals, but that is probably giving the audience what they want and it all was interesting

[Mohit Syal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Nice and Informative Book.... Takes us into the world of invertebrates and the persons who have devoted their lives in studying them.

[John Broomfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drawn to this author by his evocative article about stinging insects in Nature magazine.

[Kai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bugs are cool!!!! Also got to learn way more than I needed to about how various invertebrates have sex in so much detail that it felt like I was reading insect erotica.

[Gail Kennon · Rating 3 out of 5]

author is a very pleasant man to spend time with learning about these spineless creatures. amusing and informative.

[Linda Is on her way · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
easily digestible, yet mostly informative and scientific

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conniff's an entertaining writer -- I've read some of his stuff in Smithsonian and National Geographic. These tales of fire ants, squid, and other "spineless wonders" reall made me appreciate that we vertebrates are in the minority on this planet. We're the exception. Invertebrates are what you could call the rule. Conniff cites an interesting statistic: Of every 178 pounds of animal tissue in the Amazonian rain forest, 93 percent of it consists of invertebrates. (And it is very "Conniff" that he pauses and wonders how they came up with that figure.)

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell in love with this book as soon as I saw the cover. It reminds me so much of the Eyewitness Junior books that I loved as a child (especially the Amazing Spiders one).

It's a fun read with a nice mixture of facts and humor. Some of the essays were a little too long, whereas others weren't long enough. Some made me itch (the flea one, especially) and some made me want to read more about the specific creature (giant squid).

Although certainly not as good as The Red Hourglass, I recommend this one to anyone who likes reading about the invertebrate world.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

BUGS! SLIMY THINGS! STINGY THINGS! MANY-LEGGED THINGS! Each chapter is devoted to a different invertebrate: tarantulas, leeches, moths, etc. Super cool and nerdy.

[Jessica McReaderpants · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed tis light hearted romp through the invertebrate world. I found many amusing and interesting facts. I liked his writing style. He does not delve too deeply into each subject but I enjoyed it non-the-less. I would deff recommend this book to any science fan. (remember NOT text-booky light hearted science)

[Lee Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read, full of fun facts about animals that might creep people out: slime eels, moths, fleas, giant squid, flies, etc. Each chapter, devoted to a different invertebrate, reads like a magazine article, so you can read one on your lunch break, learn some cool things, and move on. The author is pleasantly funny, too.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about invertebrates and the people who love them. It was excellent. All of my favorites were included: squid, leeches, hagfish and mosquitoes. Really interesting and very well written. The nice couple at the campground who goes "mothing" every night is now reading it. I think that they'll be fans.

[Bruce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very light on the science, heavy on cutesy anectodes of the author's exploits (e.g. growing worms in his kitchen or catching dragonflies) and sketches of scientists. All rendered in a cutesy manner. Randomly open the book and you'll likely find something like "[the slime eel:] began to strip off the slime as assiduously as Lady Macbeth trying to wash the blood from her hands."

[Jenny Schmenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love my friends - "Hey Jenny, I got you a book on invertebrates! I could barely read it; you'll love the bit about the slime eels!"

I did love the bit about the slime eels. Man, are they gross!

This wasn't the kind of invertebrate book that kept me up til for in the morning, but I enjoyed every spineless chapter.

[Baco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of funny and fascinating facts about invertebrates, from house flies to giant squid. Plus, the scientists are almost as weird as the specimens.

Though why he ended the book on a chapter about slime eels is beyond me.

[g-na · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coniff delves into the details and intricacies of 12 different types of invertebrates (although technically one type, the hagfish, is not an invertebrate) from worms to cuttlefish. It's actually quite interesting, learning little tidbits about these overlooked groups.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating overview of select invertebrates (ants, spiders, worms, flies, etc.) told as more of an adventure tale with the author seeking out experts -- and invertebrates -- with which to interact.

[MsBrie]

If Molly says it's good it must be awesome

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love bugs! A completely fascinating non-fiction look at different types of insects and their behavior.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who likes random, interesting, sometimes revolting, other times intriguing facts about the world of invertebrates, this is an awesome book.

[Brenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It really is interesting, but I suppose my expectations were too high. The writing isn't great and the "wonder" is rather sparse.

[Joseph Harriott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare to be amazed! One of a few really well written sciencey books.

[Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pop science. Fun, if not a favorite. Sadly under-illustrated, with just one line drawning per chapter. Nice, but lacking.