Book of the Spider - Softcover

Hillyard, Paul

3.53

74 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0380730758 ISBN 13: 9780380730759

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 1998

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THE FASCINATING TRUTH BEHIND WEB WEAVERS

Despite Little Miss Muffet's well-documented confrontation, most spiders are quite harmless--except to smaller bugs. In THE BOOK OF THE SPIDER, spider specialist Paul Hillyard explores the engaging world of arachnids--especially the funny and often absurd ways in which humans respond to more than 35,000 known species of spiders. Covering the complete spider spectrum, from folklore and myths to ancient scientific studies to techno-spiders building webs in outer space, the author reveals a captivating social history of the most misunderstood of God's creatures.

THE BOOK OF THE SPIDER

answers a number of questions, both obvious and obscure, all fascinating:
How can humans forecast weather by observing a spider's actions?
Why is black-widow venom more dangerous than a rattlesnake bite?
Why are spiderwebs often used to dress wounds and coagulate blood?
What's the best cooking method for spider a la carte?

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Review:

"Nothing pleases me more than to come upon an impressive orb-web with a large spider sitting head-down in the middle," Paul Hillyard writes in the preface to this charming collection of spider legends and observations. And while many of us may not share his desire to get really close to arachnids, even a certified spider-hater can find something interesting in The Book of the Spider--if only confirmation that they are worthy objects of horror. Gruesome reports of 30-foot webs and gangrenous spider-bites are countered by legends of luck-bringing and facts about ecological usefulness. Hillyard not only describes the major types of spiders and their incredible habits, he reports on spiders in art, mythology and religion. There's even (shudder) a recipe for barbecued blue-legged tarantula, served al fresco! If you love spiders, you must have this entertaining, informative book to add to your store of arachnid facts--you'll be the life of the party. If you run in fear from our eight-legged friends, cure your phobia by reading all the way to the last chapter, entitled "From Arachnophobia to the Love of Spiders." Then you, too, will come to appreciate the old English nursery rhyme: If you wish to live and thrive/Let the spider run alive. --Therese Littleton

From the Inside Flap:

Miss Muffet is not the only one who's ever been terrified by a spider. In fact, arachnophobia, or the fear of spiders, afflicts millions around the world. Some people are so tormented that they cannot ever relax, even at home, for fear they'll encounter a "creepy crawler." And yet, a love of spiders -- or at least a fascination with them -- touches just as many millions, perhaps more.

Though some spiders are dangerous, even deadly, most are perfectly harmless -- except to smaller bugs. In The Book of the Spider, naturalist Paul Hillyard examines the engaging world of arachnids and the humorous and frequently absurd ways in which humans respond to this most misunderstood of God's creatures.

Hillyard, an arachnologist at the Natural History Museum in London, covers the full spider spectrum, from folklore and myths to Aristotle's early scientific studies to Space Age spiders building webs in outer space.

There are more than 35,000 known spider species of

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