Rating: 
Summary: More gross-out than Steven King! (and more informative!)
Review: If Steven King can become so popular writing books that totally freak people out by being gross, weird and scary, then Richard Conniff should be a household name by now. Of course, the big difference is that King makes up his super-natural characters! Conniff has discovered the freakiness of the "ultra-natural" world in Spineless Wonders. You don't have to be a true bug-lover or bug-hater to enjoy this book. From mosquitoes to fleas to giant squid, this book visits some of the incredible invertebrates on Earth. This easy and fun to read set of essays might leave you unsure if you still want to interact with the world around you, but will not fail to intrigue you, amaze you, and sometimes maybe gross you out. On the good side, you will have more knowledge, appreciation and respect for the lives of our neighbors, the invertebrates. BUGMAN loves this book!
Rating:
Summary: Book everyone needs to read.
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Book everyone needs to read.
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: 1997 National Magazine Award winner
Review: Smithsonian magazine has won the 1997 National Magazine Award for *Special Interests.* The award was presented for a three-part series on invertebrates by Richard Conniff, which ran in the February, May and July issues in 1996. Presenting the award, Frank Lalli, President of the American Society of Magazine Editors, said, *In a superb trio of Smithsonian magazine's "creature features" author Richard Conniff, with rare grace, reveals the mysterious world of three invertebrates: moths, squid and dragonflies. Along for those incredible journeys, the reader gains a new awareness of the natural world's infinite variety. Never will you roam your backyard or contemplate a plate of calamari in quite the same way.*
*We at Smithsonian are delighted to receive this award.* said Don Moser, Smithsonian's editor. *Credit goes to author Dick Conniff, who has never written a bad line in his life-- and has never met a bug he didn't like.*
Conniff is the author of "Spineless Wonders--Strange Tales from the Invertebrate World," available from Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for a new undergraduate Zoology student
Review: The book gave me an appreciation for our invertibrate friends. I was amazed at the way Conniff made it such easy reading- not like a darn textbook! I would recommend it to anyone interested in being entertained and educated.
Rating:
Summary: an ode to invertebrates
Review: There is more to the world of nature than cuddly koalas, magnificent whales, and beautifully singing birds. Most of the animal kingdom, and much of the biomass on the planet, are invertebrates! Insects, spiders, centipedes, molluscs, crustaceans, echnioderms, worms, all greatly outnumber vertebrates and are absolutely vital to continued life on earth, and all are greatly unappreciated by the average person. Richard Conniff takes us on a representative tour of several members of the invertebrate world. Though he only scratches the surface, he shows us some of the most fascinating of the "creepy crawlies," creatures that often have few admirers in the media or popular culture. From the fascinating world of flies to the invaluable leech to the hated fire ant to beetles, fleas, and giant squid and beyond, Conniff shows us the astounding world of invertebrates. Strictly speaking, Conniff includes one vertebrate in the mix, the lowly but extremely unusual hagfish, so it is not only invertebrates. Having said that though this was an excellent book, one well worth reading. Popular science writing at its best.
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