Synopses & Reviews
When viewed from a quiet beach, the ocean, with its rolling waves and vast expanse, can seem calm, even serene. But hidden beneath the sea’s waves are a staggering abundance and variety of active creatures, engaged in the never-ending struggles of life—to reproduce, to eat, and to avoid being eaten.
With Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime, marine scientist Ellen Prager takes us deep into the sea to introduce an astonishing cast of fascinating and bizarre creatures that make the salty depths their home. From the tiny but voracious arrow worms whose rapacious ways may lead to death by overeating, to the lobsters that battle rivals or seduce mates with their urine, to the sea’s masters of disguise, the octopuses, Prager not only brings to life the ocean’s strange creatures, but also reveals the ways they interact as predators, prey, or potential mates. And while these animals make for some jaw-dropping stories—witness the sea cucumber, which ejects its own intestines to confuse predators, or the hagfish that ties itself into a knot to keep from suffocating in its own slime—there’s far more to Prager’s account than her ever-entertaining anecdotes: again and again, she illustrates the crucial connections between life in the ocean and humankind, in everything from our food supply to our economy, and in drug discovery, biomedical research, and popular culture.
Written with a diver’s love of the ocean, a novelist’s skill at storytelling, and a scientist’s deep knowledge, Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime enchants as it educates, enthralling us with the wealth of life in the sea—and reminding us of the need to protect it.
Review
“The ocean is endlessly fascinating and mysterious. With her easy and companionable writing, Ellen Prager conveys a deeply delightful introduction to all kinds of ocean creatures. A great book for beginners and one even experts can learn from and enjoy—this is possibly the best general book ever written on creatures of the deep.”--Carl Safina, author of
The View From Lazy Point Review
“The oceans could have no better storyteller than Ellen Prager. Each page leaves you wondering what extraordinary creature or behavior would appear next or how even those that seem the most ordinary have mysteries beyond our imagination. Beyond inspiring wonder, Prager tells why it all matters, from the tiniest to the largest creature, our health, our lives, the economy and our future are interconnected in astonishing ways.”--US Congressman Brian Baird, former chairman of the Energy and Environment subcommittee
Review
“In my years of diving and reporting below the surface of the sea, Ellen Prager has been the most effective and humorous storyteller about life in the ocean. Here she brings us the strangely well-endowed conch, slime-touting hagfish, transgender parrotfish, and an abundance of slime and sex within the seas. By combining science with humor, she allows more people to learn about the ocean and understand that the lives of animals are not only crucial for our food and fun, but also for our economy and health. You really should read this book, which not only teaches us about the ocean, but also makes it entertaining and gives us ideas about how to save the sea and the wonderful life in it."--Bob Woodruff, ABC News correspondent
Review
“Ellen Prager has produced a fascinating and delightful read about the amazing diversity of life under the sea. She describes a panoply of strange and wondrous creatures in an accessible and non-technical fashion that leaves you shaking your head in wonder. Pragers book will make you want to head to the nearest shore and jump right in!”
Review
"Packed with excellent conversation fodder for your next date, this book details the strange lives and mating rituals of sea creatures. Choose your anecdotes wisely, though: That romantic seafood dinner may become less appetizing once you explain that lobsters use urine during foreplay, or that male octopi copulate with a 'specialized baby-maker arm.'"—
Sierra Magazine
Review
"The ocean may look lifeless from the deck of a ship, but under the water live many creatures large and small. In the past, writers have claimed there was an abundance of life in the seas, but marine scientist Prager reports that overfishing, pollution, and global warming have already taken a great toll on marine life. She hopes there is still time to save ocean creatures, for their sake and ours. The problem is getting people to care, and to do so they must be aware of the diversity and value of marine life. In this introduction to ocean life, Prager briefly describes an array of creatures, starting with microscopic diatoms, copepods, and plankton and thematically progressing through rare, dangerous, and slow-developing invertebrates, fishes, birds, and marine mammals. Aiming to entertain as well as teach, she often focuses on oddities and strange behaviors. Her detailed observations will be most appreciated by natural-history readers."
Review
"A tastefully scandalous tour of defensive secretions and extreme sexual flexibility backs up a plea for ocean conservation."
Review
"Prager plumbs the depths for strange or marvelous organisms, first wowing us with their weirdness and then reeling us in with their worth--be it culinary, medicinal, biotechnological, or recreational. Her exuberant writing reveals a personal enthrallment with her protagonists. Shes the perfect guide for an undersea exploration."
Review
and#8220;Natureand#8217;s evolutionary success story, the indestructible cockroach, gets the full treatment in Schweidand#8217;s zesty survey of roach fact and fancy. . . . Loathe cockroaches if you must, grind them underfoot. But it is the time-tested roach, Schweid makes clear, who will have the last laugh.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Schweid blends both roach fact and fiction into an engaging, perceptive profile of our strange, and occasionally literal, bedfellows.and#8221;
Review
andldquo;Schweid gives the cockroach a long cold look and keeps looking when most of us would turn away, until a subject that seemed disgusting becomes fascinating. Now I have nothing but admiration for cockroaches. Which is why Iandrsquo;ve taken to sleeping in gloves and boots.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Schweid manages to provide a lot of technical information concerning the life and times of cockroaches and at the same time anecdotal stories of his own life . . . . He has done his homework. . . . Other authors have discussed other insects (Vincent Dethier on flies, Bernd Heinrich on bumblebees, and E. O. Wilson on ants), but not in the same way as Schweid covers cockroaches. The book is for all readers.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Schweid . . . begins his compendium with an autobiographical incident making it clear that the history and lore of the cockroach he presents is, unlike others, personal as well as intellectual. He emphasizes that the cockroach has influenced and will continue to influence his (and hence all human) lives just as humans have influenced the lives of cockroaches worldwideandmdash;and especially those of the six species who share our homes. . . . That insight may at least give his reader pause before he stomps on or sprays another roach!andrdquo;
Synopsis
Beginning with the Neapolitan saying, and#147;Every cockroach is beautiful to its mother,and#8221; Schweid goes on to explain how cockroaches have been living on earth since long before humans, and continue to thriveand#151;over five thousand species of themand#151;everywhere we live, and many places we donand#8217;t.and#160; As Schweid writes in his new foreword, people always remember their encounters with cockroaches, so the bugs provide him with memorable stories about what scares us, what inspires us, what weand#8217;re willing to put up with, and what we need.and#160; Illustrated with photographs and drawings, enlivened with references from literature, interviews with exterminators and biologists, and accounts from the authorand#8217;s own travels, this witty and thoughtful compendium will tell you more than you want to know about cockroaches . . . and quite a bit about the human race as well.
Synopsis
Skittering figures of urban legendand#151;and a ubiquitous realityand#151;cockroaches are nearly as abhorred as they are ancient. Even as our efforts to exterminate them have developed into ever more complex forms of chemical warfare, roachesand#8217; basic design of six legs, two hypersensitive antennae, and one set of voracious mandibles has persisted unchanged for millions of years. But as Richard Schweid shows in
The Cockroach Papers, while some species of these evolutionary superstars do indeed plague our kitchens and restaurants, exacerbate our asthma, and carry disease, our belief in their total villainy is ultimately misplaced.
Traveling from New York City to Louisiana, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Morocco, Schweid blends stories of his own squirm-inducing roach encounters with meticulous research to spin a tale both humorous and harrowing. As he investigates roachesand#8217; more nefarious interactions with our speciesand#151;particularly with those of us living at the margins of societyand#151;Schweid also explores their astonishing diversity, how they mate, what theyand#8217;ll eat, and what weand#8217;ve written about them (from Kafka and Nelson Algren to archy and mehitabel). Knowledge soon turns into respect, and Schweid looks beyond his own fears to arrive at an uncomfortable truth: We humans are no more peaceful, tidy, or responsible about taking care of the Earth or each other than these tiny creatures that swarm in the dark corners of our minds, homes, and cereal boxes.
About the Author
Richard Schweid is a journalist and documentarian living in Barcelona. He is the author of many books, including Consider the Eel: A Natural and Gastronomic History, Cheand#39;s Chevrolet, Fideland#39;s Oldsmobile: On the Road in Cuba, and Hereafter: Searching for Immortality.
Table of Contents
A Note on the Title
1. The Invisible Crowd
2. Mega-Slime, Seduction, and Shape-Shifting
3. Lets Talk Snails
4. The Riddle of the Reef
5. Armed and Dangerous
6. Cabinet of Curiosities
7. X-Games
8. Radical Living
9. Danger Looms
10. The Good News
11. How You Can Help
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
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