Review by Choice Review
Dalton is an accomplished high-speed photographer with 15 previous wildlife-related books to his credit (e.g., The Miracle of Flight, CH, Apr'00, 37-4477). In this beautifully illustrated volume aimed at a general audience, Dalton provides a highly selective rather than comprehensive treatment of his subject. Nonetheless, the quality of the photographs is simply outstanding, making the book a useful adjunct to more detailed monographs concerning the systematics, evolution, ecology, and physiology of spiders. The first chapter provides a short introduction to the group and includes a description of spider morphology and the major taxonomic groups. Subsequent chapters describe the various hunting modes, including species active in the day versus the night, jumping spiders, web builders, and tunnel web spiders. Dalton's forte is his photographic expertise, and the concluding chapter on techniques and equipment for photographing spiders will thus be of great benefit to scientists and nonscientists alike. The rather limited bibliography will not be useful to most college students or faculty. Summing Up: Recommended. General and academic readers, lower-division undergraduates and above. M. J. O'Donnell McMaster University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Spiders are literally everywhere sitting in their webs, hiding in a crack, ballooning by on a strand of silk and these ubiquitous predators occupy almost any ecological niche imaginable. Spiders evolved around 400 million years ago, and their voracious consumption of insects was an important factor in driving the evolution of both groups during their ongoing arms race. Spiders are neglected by those interested in nature, both for their creepiness factor and the fact that most are not brightly colored. British photographer Dalton does much to dispel both negatives in this new celebration of arachnids. Beginning with a basic chapter on what a spider is (and is not), the author then examines representative spiders from groups divided by hunting style: nocturnal hunters, daylight visual hunters, jumping spiders, ambushers, trappers with orderly webs, trappers with disorderly webs, tunnel-web builders, and nonconformists, who have evolved unique hunting styles. Illustrating the text are Dalton's exquisite close-up photos of spiders (mostly found in Europe or the U.S.): the final chapter reveals Dalton's secrets for photographing his elusive subjects.--Bent, Nancy Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
