Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time: My Life Doing Dumb Stuff with Animals

by Richard Conniff

Overview

In this thrilling foray into the animal kingdom, Richard Conniff takes readers on an adventure-packed journey as he courts the most dangerous animals and lives to tell the tale. He lets African wild dogs sniff his neck to test the idea that they are vicious man-eaters, sticks his hand in a fire ant mound and does multiple takes for a pretty camerawoman on a television shoot, and flings chicken carcasses into piranha-infested waters to clock how quickly they disappear--before diving in himself. This collection offers a rare chance to go along on these death-defying treks and see life through the eyes of a bona-fide field naturalist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393304572
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	06/28/2010
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Richard Conniff, a Guggenheim Fellow and winner of the National Magazine Award, writes for Smithsonian and National Geographic and is a frequent commentator on NPR's All Things Considered and a guest columnist for the New York Times. His books include The Natural History of the Rich, Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time, and The Species Seekers. He lives in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Editorial Reviews

"Conniff writes with vibrancy and verve. His prose crackles with the leaves on an African savannah and shimmers with the sun on a Louisiana bayou."

Sacramento Book Review

"His joy and fascination…[are] contagious."

Seed

"Field naturalist Conniff’s animal adventures ... are so amusing and full color that they burst right off the page ... a quick and intensely pleasurable read."

Seed Magazine

"Hilariously informative…This book will remind you why you always wanted to be a naturalist."

Outside Magazine

"... frequently hysterical and always compelling essays ..."

CT) The Day (New London

"Conniff’s poetic accounts of giraffes drifting past like sail boats, and his feeble attempts to educate Vervet monkeys on the wonders of tissue paper will leave your heart and sides aching. An excellent read."

BBC Focus Magazine

"Animal lovers will enjoy these true tales of adventure that make you laugh aloud or gasp in fear."

NY) The Daily Star (Oneonta