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Rating: 
Summary: Come into his parlor ...
Review: Hillyard is a friendly, engaging writer and his book is fine bait for any arachnophile. But he purports to be passionate about spiders, and this book doesn't show it. It's entirely too light on its subject ... for example, there isn't a single technical drawing or close-up photograph in the whole book. Color plates for those fantastically varied species? None either. And the next-to-last chapter on significant spider classifiers, those English country parsons, is really a snooze. The most significant problem is the lack of a chapter on spider myths, an odd omission for a subject as murky and maligned as spiders. He could have broken some new ground, as well ... For instance, the hobo spider, a wholly new venomous species, is spreading through the Pacific Northwest ... how did it get here? Who found it? When do people bump into it, and how does it behave? What is its future?
Rating: 
Summary: I love this book!
Review: Only 3% of the human population enjoys spiders! If you are one of those rare folks or a lay scientist this little gem of a book will charm and educate you with hundreds of fascinating facts. The prodigious talents and feats of many different types of spiders are described accurately and precisely.Written in a conversational style the varied topics of facts, history, myth, are explored with an often whimsical and affectionate eye. Astound your friends with little known spider facts, recite lengthy, descriptive spider poems to your loved one. Includes an extensive biography for further research. It's a keeper for me, I look forward to impressing my grandchildren, having already amazed my 14-y/o for years with my spider facts and stories...
Rating:
Summary: A spidery delight
Review: This is not what you would call an information book, although there is plenty of excellent information in it, from a guy who really knows his spiders. It's more of a casual stroll through the sometimes unpleasant but never boring world of spiders, plucking the juiciest tidbits of information as it goes. If you need a systematic overview, this isn't the book for you. But as a good read that takes you through the highs (web-building) and the lows (how they eat) of the spider world, it's unbeatable. One more thing: the design of the book (inside) is a delight. Unfortunately this edition does not have the original cover, which was excellent.
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