Spider Books

My husband and I enjoy the song of the cricket.......we didn't understand that so many varieties of crickets existed... Having the photos in front of us while listening to the cd songs is a very good feature. My husband finds listening to the cricket songs relaxing also. I would certainly purchase other quality items from the people who created this....probably birds or just cricket songs. Now we know more about the world we live in.

This book has provided hours of fantastic entertainment for the family. We love looking at the pictures, listening to the sounds and then trying to identify the crickets that we find.
This book should be in every family's library. Get your kids outside and play!

This book and included CD was the answer for learning all the insect sounds on my field recordings and nocturnal adventures. Good pictures for seeing what you heard really looks like, as well as good descriptions with the general range of each species noted. Excellent quality recordings on the CD.

As other reviewers have stated, this is a remarkable resource for insect identification. I would like to comment on the quality of the images. I found that a remarkable effort and attention to detail that went into these images. In far too many books the conversion of images from digital to print looks like the author doesn't know or doesn't care how his images look. For Lang Elliott this was not the case. He meticulously ensured that the printed images have remarkable depth of field and colors. I found any number of them to be remarkable pieces of photographic art. I felt guilty for only paying $13.57 for this book.

I have long wanted to know what insects I am hearing every summer and now have a chance of knowing which ones they are. The imagery is fantastic. The range maps will be a blessing to my students as they try to determine what type of katydid or cicada and so on they have nabbed for their bug collection.

The audio CD is great too! The only drawback there is that the holding compartment in the back of the book is poor. Right after I got this book I was taking it to school and the brand new CD fell out of the pouch and onto the pavement. Now its scratched and I don't know what to do. I usually make a backup of all my CDs right away but failed to do so with this one!

This book came to my attention when I wrote in my blog about the microphone I positioned in my backyard. I use it to listen to crickets and lots of other creatures out back, sometimes all night long.

Having received this book a few days ago, I just couldn't wait to add to the accolades here. This book is huge, complete, beautifully printed, beautifully packaged, nothing less than a dream come true for this Spidey lover.

I collect early issues for myself and my 9-year-old son, and understandably don't want either of us to handle these precious collectibles to enjoy the stories. We already had the DVD-ROM--but frankly the scans weren't that good, and nothing replaces good old print for reading in bed, etc. Everything about this book is perfect. Although I am a Romita (Sr.) fan as well, the editorial decision to include just the Ditko issues was wise, allowing the book to be a loving tribute to the eccentric co-creator of the Spiderman legend. The bonus material in this edition is wonderful, including contemporary ASM Annuals, crossover appearances in Strange Tales Annual #2 and Fantastic Four Annual #1, ads, alternate covers, the Marvel Tales reprint covers, staff photos (Ditko of course mysteriously absent), and some welcome comments by Stan Lee. (Peculiarly, although Jack Kirby was a masterful artist, he never was able to get Spidey "right", as amply demonstrated here.) Even the "The Spider's Web" from each issue is included, with letters from Vietnam grunts and kids alike, all of which REALLY takes me back to the day....

This book is a genuine piece of art, and a piece of history (personal and cultural) for me. My only possible gripes are that between the sturdy paper stock and the inclusiveness, the book is so hefty it could qualify as a deadly weapon--and that it's so darned wonderful I have to worry about my son and I wearing IT out! I might even have to buy yet another "collector's" copy here. Fortunately at this price, it's a steal!

In short--if you love Spiderman, you MUST buy this book!!!

Caution: handling this book while reading it will make your biceps big... And with great power comes great responsability!
This book, as you probably already know, packs the origin and the first four years of Spider-Man's adventures. All of Spidey's arch-villains (excepted Venom and Carnage) feature : Doc Octopus, Green Goblin, you name them. All of Spidey's world was set during these first chapters: his bullies (and future friends), his girlfriends (including the then-mysterious MJ), Aunt May etc.
When these adventures were first published, almost 50 years ago, they were genuinely pioneering, revolutionary, seminal even. The super hero comics as we know them today would not exist without this masterpiece by Stan LEE and Steve DITKO. I do not know how the teenagers of today will connect with it, but for this reader -- who read the issues herein compiled at the tender age of ten, when they were first published in France (that means the early 70s to you) --, it ages rather well. I believe all serious comics fans in the world should own these adventures and this "omnibus" is probably the best way to do so.

This is MOST DEFINATLY a MUST-HAVE item. One of the most beautiful books I have seen! Perfection is the one word that sums up this purchase! And wotta deal!! What are U waiting for??????? Order this NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The quality of this fist stories are still the best. There is drama and humor, there is action and quit moments. The revolutionary visions of Steve Ditko shine in this oversized pages. I review the second printing and the binding is different to the older Omnibus editions. The binding is better because now it is possible to wide open the pages.

Steve Ditko's art work was an acqired taste for me. His old people all looked Asian, his girl's were too thin, and his adversarial figures had
bowed lower legs. That said, he was more adventurous than King Kirby, es-pecially when he tackled Dr. Strange. Ditko was perfect for that strip,
but his breakthrough was the early Spider-Man, and for that, I will always be grateful. Get this one, if you're young. Compare it to the
masturbatory, nihilistic issues of today, and come to your own conclusions, if you can.

This fascinating and detailed "field guide to household bugs" is written by non-scientists for non-scientists. It is
down to earth with amazing, horrifying photographic illustrations.

This is a very amusing but factual review of the bugs you knew were around your house but wished you didn't. The book is filled with interesting factoids about common house bugs that are told with humor making the book an entertaining read. It contains some great images of bugs that make you realize that it is a good job that they are very small. A good read for anyone with a good sense of humor.

I saw the two authors being interviewed on KTLA TV--they were hilarious-- and had to buy the book! It is really well-designed and funny to boot. I learned a lot. I just bought two more for my nephews (ages 9 and 11) for Christmas--the book's small size makes it a perfect stocking stuffer!

I really enjoyed this book. It's super interesting, has cool images, is easy to read and is written in a very light, fun manner. Kids and adults will both like it. After reading it, you have lots of little bizarre, freaky and entertaining factoids to share with folks.

I purchased this book in the hopes that it would shed some light on the mysterious bugs I've seen in my home (no, I'm not a dirty person with a bug-filed home, but my house is very old with lots of nooks and crannies for bugs to come into the house!). Instead, this book is more of a book for families/kids. There are no actual photos of bugs or their larvae, just super-magnified images that won't really help with identification. The information is very generalized, and the authors try to be "jokey" in their descriptions as well as with their tips on how to get rid of bugs. I was also disappointed in how small the book is. I wish there had been a "look inside" option for this book before I purchased it. In all fairness, there were a few interesting tidbits in this book, but it was not what I was looking for.

you cannot go wrong w/ david carter "bug" books. i buy every one i can and my kids are getting too old for them. GREAT gifts

when are you going to mail this book ? or email me a phone # so i can talk to some one abouit this book.

I was happy to find the Bugs pop-up book, because my own children loved them, and now I am buying them for grandchildren. The books are fun and a delight for children, but probably too fragile for children under 3. The pop-ups are creative and clever, and there is a bit of a story line to the books, too.

My 16 month old son has only recently begun to sit still for books, but this was the first one that he paid rapt attention to, beginning to end. He brings it over for me to read it to him frequently. He has learned which way to pull the different flaps and tabs (they are different on different pages). Perhaps it's not the sturdiest of books, but for amount of pulling and yanking it has had, it has lasted far better than several other pop-up type books we have. We read it all the time, and he still hasn't tired of it. I will be getting him some others in the "bugs" series (he loves Chanukah Bugs, too), since they hold his attention so well! The bugs are cute, also.

I bought this book for my two 1/2 yr old. She loved all popup style books. But this book you have to be careful with. Each page had a different style of pull out, pop up. But the paper is very thin and tears easily. Not for a child to look through them selfs. Even as an adult I have to be very gentle with it.

This is an Excellent book. When I picked up the box that it was shipped in out of my mail box I was surprised at the weight of it. I started to ask myself if I had any other books on order that may of been shipped in the same box. This is an excellent book really nice pictures of the insects. The only problem I have is that I like to see bigger descriptions of each bug. I'm in the landscape and lawn care industry and you need to know the habits of each insect/bug that you are dealing with. But I would not drop a star rating because of this. It is a very nice book that it layed out well.

This guide is a bit pricey, and too heavy to serve as a field guide, but it is an excellent research tool for the Master Gardener, Master Naturalist, Entomologist, or anyone with a serious interest in insects.

The descriptions of each insect family and the many color photos of representatives of each family are interesting and memorable. This book gave me a fun overview of most insect families, and has a nice picture key that is much easier to use than conventional keys. I am a novice to insects, but as I learn more and more, I have no doubt that I will continue turning back to this book with its wealth of information and photos. This book is truly an intellectual gem - fun to read, and packed with interesting information. A MUST-HAVE for anyone interested in insects.

I love this book. I flip through it frequently. It is not much in terms of a field guide, but it really covers a lot of insects and the pictures are fantastic. I would do, however, prefer to see a bit more information on range/habitat/size, but to include that for each of the insects listed in this book would make the volume too large, and likely prohibitively expensive.

Stephen A. Marshall's INSECTS: THEIR NATURAL HISTORY AND DIVERSITY isn't for the general-interest holding so much as the college-level collection catering to entomologists or students of such. Insects of Eastern North America are the focus in a jam-packed colorful reference displaying insects within their order and including notes on their introduction, habitats, coloring and more. It's the professional's solid reference to identification and habits, making it a top basic reference pick for serious science libraries.

Ever since the Harry Potter series (of which I'm a great fan) exploded in popularity, it has spawned a few of what seem to be knockoffs, none of which come close to being such good quality as ol' HP. So I was a bit suspicious when I picked up this book, especially because many of the characters are British, but was pleasantly surprised to find, as I kept reading, that this book strives to be unique and not mimic JKR's style, story or anything else.

At first, too, it seemed like a flimsy plot - nothing but "Oh, good heavens! Another adventure has befallen us! Pip-pip, cheerio, etc." I thought it was just going to be "rinse and repeat"...one pointless adventure after another, but after a bit I got interested in the characters and ended up enjoying this book. It's good adventure for younger readers and with no harmful topics to speak of. Check it out!

A great, new adventure series - young adult, but lots of Victorian literature overtones that the older kids will love. I love the literary, clever writing and creative worldbuilding that Reeve has done. This is a fresh twist on a familiar story where precocious kids with inventor parents are thrown into an adventure where they learn that there is more to their family than they knew.

I honestly think this is one of my new favorite books! Absolutely wonderful! Funny, creative, cute, charming, endearing, fast-paced, and sweet!
Delightful characters fill the book from cover to cover. The plot is both intriguing and pretty complex without being too confusing or obvious. The illustrations add to story and seem very fitting to the style of writing.
The book is filled with wit and heart. I adored it!

I originally borrowed this book from the library to read aloud to my, now six year old, daughter and I have to tell you the truth, I took it back with out reading it. It was too much for me, I couldn't do the accents right and the lingo and speech patterns were just too much for my brain that day.

So, I borrowed the audio book and let Greg Steinbruner read it to her instead. Which was wonderful for all of us; he did the lingo the accents and the speech patterns of all the different characters flawlessly.

And while she followed along looking at the fabulous illustrations in the book, we all fell in love with Larklight. It's a wonderfully imaginative and fantastic story of the giant spiders who attack Art and Myrtle Mumby and their home, Larklight, which is located in outer space, of course.

If your child likes Peter Pan and pirates she might like this story, though it has a little bit of a scary factor, I could see it scaring some children, there are gigantic spiders attacking after all.

But our kid loved this so much we bought her the sequel, Starcross, and read it to her ourselves. We got the hang of the accents and the lingo and all after repeatedly listening to Greg Steinbruner.

Last year our girl insisted on being Jack Havock, the hero from Larklight for Halloween. And her birthday party last month was planned around Larklight. So, it's really made quite the impression with her.

I highly recommend it and hope you love it as much as we do.

Larklight is a giant Victorian style home orbiting around the moon. It is inhabited by the Mumby's, including 15 year old Myrtle, 12 year old Art, and Edward, their Father. Their mother, Amelia, died a few years back on a trip to the Earth's surface. Edward is studying the habits of Aetheric Icthyomorphs, a breed of fish and sea like creatures that live in space. One day a man named Mr. Webster from the Royal Xenological Society pays a call on Edward to see his work, but Mr. Webster turns out to be a giant white spider that has come to unleash an army of similar creatures onto Larklight. When Art awakens the house is encased in spider webbing and he and his sister have to make an escape, leaving their father behind in the flight.

Thus begins a tremendously adventurous feat of story telling. Reeve has outdone himself with this fine addition to the steam punk, space traveling genre. If Terry Gilliam, L. Frank Baum, George Lucas, and Jules Verne got together and had a lovechild I believe it would resemble this book. Oh, and throw in a bit of Herbert's "Dune" just for flavor. The thing is this, even with all of these influences "Larklight" is a story completely unique in it's own right. A rollicking tale of swashbuckling space pirates, intrigue, and mayhem makes this book a great read and the start of a thrilling new series. I can't wait to read the next one.

I have been a Spider-man Collector for 32 years and this is by far one of the best books you can buy. This collection is very informative and has great pictures by all the best artists.

Buy this book now.

This is an excellent, entertaining history of Spider-Man. Saffel has done a terrific job of chronicling the long and strange history of one of the most popular fictional characters in the world.

There are lots of interesting tidbits that will surprise even the most dedicated of fans. Entertaining details and gorgeous photography are the clear highlights of this massive package.

The coverage of how Spider-Man made it to the screen is particularly interesting.

Plus the evolution of the character is great, even if it just touches on some key milestones.

Three minor complaints:
1. The book tries to cover too much ground. That is, there's so much to report that the author must sometimes merely gloss over interesting historical details. Perhaps if the focus was mainly on comics and media and toys, it would have been more effective.

2. This book would have been the perfect place to offer some historical perspective on key story lines. The author spends some time on current history (Civil War) and some recent history (Clone Wars, Black Costume, Wedding), but very little on other history. It would have been very interesting to know more about certain story arcs from the 70s and early 80s.

3. Listing of facts. Sometimes the author seems to be simply listing information, like names of episodes or other stuff that doesnt really progress your knowledge of the character's history. It's almost as if the author is filling space to round out a chapter or section.

Again, these are minor complaints, and I still give this 4 of 5 stars.

This should be Book 1 in an ongoing series of books like this. Well worth the price.

This is an amazing book, filled with all kinds of fascinating information about everyone's favorite wall-crawling hero! Steve Saffel has done an incredible job, drawing together historic items, wonderful photos of toys, games and other items that feature the iconic Spider-Man. This book is both a fascinating history of Spidey and a warm nostalgic trip through the "life" of a character that has achieved mythical status through comics, books, TV shows (animated and live action) and now a terrific movie trilogy. Highly recommended!!!

I'm one of those guys who started reading Spider-Man back in 1962 with his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15. I've kept up with Spidey's adventures all these years through all sorts of titles, and episodes. I even worked for Marvel as a freelancer during the `80s & `90s (a little bit of that time for author Steve Saffel while he was an editor over there), so it is entirely possible that I'm a tad biased when it comes to this subject.

I believe that one of the reasons that I became a professional writer was because of my love for this character. When I spotted this book at a local bookstore, I knew I had to have it. Having Steve's name on the cover clinched it for me.

Now as I read the book, rediscovering all of the things that made me a Marvel Zombie, and Spidey fan as a teen came flooding back. This is a terrific book, and if I, who not only knew much -- if not all -- of this stuff already still finds it fascinating, think how engrossing it will be to someone who doesn't have my history with the character. Going through the book I see snippets of conversations I had with Steve about the history of both Marvel and Spider-Man, as see that he has taken the care necessary for dealing with a subject that is near and dear to the author's heart.

Yes, this is a great coffee table book that is a great research tool as well as a wonderful trip down memory lane for any fan of May Parker's beloved nephew. All of which brings up an interesting point.

As much of the early accolades for Spidey (as reported in the book) revolved around the degree of realism that Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and John Romita, Sr. put into the series (Spidey lived in New York, not "Metropolis" or "Gotham City," He suffered from real-world problems (school bullies, an ailing aunt, death of close friends), and that he was allowed to grow up and age (Peter went from a 15-year-old High School student to a young adult attending and then graduating college).

Thus, given this early ground-breaking work by Lee and those that followed, one has to wonder why the current editorial management team has decreed that Spidey's clock be reset to an earlier time via a magical "solution" (to a problem that wasn't there)? Ah well, perhaps Steve will be able to explain that in his follow-up tome.

This book appears to have been inspired by the superior "Batman Collected" by Chip Kidd. Far from an analysis of Spider-Man as a character, or the various Spider-Man comics as works of fiction, this volume concentrates on Spider-Man as a pop culture phenomenon and commercial exercise. As such, equal emphasis is placed on TV and film adaptations and in particular ancillary merchandise as on the comics themselves.
The book is lavishly illustrated with quality reproductions of a wide range of comicbook covers and interior pages as well as screen grabs from animation and movies and photographs of various (often amusingly incongruous or shoddily made) Spider-Man products from across the decades.
Sadly the book is let down by the text. Contrary to the reviews above, the author does assume familiarity with Spidey as well as with Marvel Comics in general. For example, in his opening chapter he offers no definite summary of the character's fictional origin, making it neither explicit that Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider nor that he later neglects to halt a criminal who goes on to murder his uncle. Other characters, titles and story-lines are tossed into the prose casually ("...Cap's shooting...") with no supporting explanation.
Worse, the author was on Marvel's pay roll in the past and as such certain passages come across as trade puff. Saffel is unwilling to engage critically with his subject. To cite a few examples: we are given no account of the well-known creative differences between Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, nor is the contention that Jack Kirby designed the costume addressed ; the recent "One More Day" reboot is described, correctly, as "controversial", but there's no description of why; "Spider-Man 3" was the most critically derided of Sam Raimi's movies (62% "fresh" at rottentomatoes.com compared with 90% and 93% for the previous instalments) but is nevertheless painted as the most successful.
This book therefore has the same frustrating lack of depth as the various DK "Ultimate Guides" to comic book characters whose authors also fail to make any attempt at critique, or even be encyclopaedic in their approach. The definitive Spider-Man book is yet to be written. One longs for something in the style of Les Daniels' "Complete Histories" of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

This may very well be the best spidey story ever told, and that is very strange considering how low on the pole Kraven ranks among Spideys villains. However, Kraven becomes an empathetic character in this story, and watching his dissent into madness from panel to panel is a work of art. The story has a few moments that spidey fans will remember forever, and that's pretty impressive considering the characters history. Every Spiderman fan needs to have this in their collection, Nuff said.

the only thing to dissapoint me about this book was the 'hype'-if i can call it that.nearly all 5 stars (reviews here) means a damn good book,and i felt like maybe it was a bit less than amazing.that said i will read it again and never let it go.awesome cover art but inside it is still a 20 year old story (give or take)

Great read here! If you like Spider-Man, comics, or just a good read, make sure to pick up this story. It's got action, drama, emotion...so many things on so many levels. The dialog flows, the art is beautiful, and the story has real meaning to it. Be cautioned: The story is dark. The web-spinner lacks his usual wit and humor. He doesn't have time for it...he's fighting for his life! Hardboiled, gritty, and just plain good. Highly recommended.

This story is an absolute masterpiece, the art is superb and the story, well its just fantastic. It gives the reader a very interresting villain, whom you might be temped to cheer for. This story is about honour, revenge and having a second chance (spidey after getting out of the grave changes).

Extremely recommended to EVERYONE

This was a very entertaining read. The story was very good and the art was even better. It does a great job of putting you into the mind of Kraven. You really get both sides of the story which really makes you have to pick either Spidey's or Kraven's side. Great read.

There are a variety of popular books on the biology of spiders but this seems to be the only recent one in English at the professional level except for Barth's `A Spider's World' (2001),likewise dated and quite expensive. Foelix's 330 pages are packed with details on every aspect of spider life. As a former physiologist I found it fascinating, and, though it has much of interest for any intelligent person, the general reader will be less than enthralled by details of digestive, circulatory and reproductive and nervous systems.

It is well illustrated with many drawings, photos and tables.

This is an excellent translation from the 1992 German edition but 16 years have passed so the enormous recent progress in genetics and molecular biology, RFID tagging and computer analysis is missing. In contrast to what the nonspecialist might think, they are an extraordinarily diverse group in their genetics, physiology, anatomy and behavior. I expect that when the genetics have been worked out, there will be a gulf between the 40,000 or so species at least as vast as that between sharks and gorillas.

There is no reference to the `web' which you can easily remedy eg, at www.arachnology.be/Arachnology.html and its links. The very old book by the famous naturalist Fabre is still in print and is even available online at http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/youth/howandwhy/TheLifeoftheSpider

There are some more recent excellent books in foreign languages such as Vanuytven's `Spinnen' in Dutch but so far as I know, none has been translated. An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia(2000) is superb but out of print.

This is an excellent review of the biology of spiders. It was amazing discover that spiders can learn. I recommend this book.

It's amazing how much I know about these little creatures now that I've read this book. I never knew how clever some species of spiders are. Like how some can trick other spiders to come out of their homes and the ingenius methods they employ to catch their prey. I think it would be fun to be an arachnologist.

This book is worthy of being considered a text book for serious students of spiders but it is easily readable for the average person. It absolutely tells you everything you could want to know about the life of these creatures. Excellent diagrams of each subject matter. I recommend it highly for the detailed information you need to have. While it did have pictures of various spiders, I was disappointed it did not have pictures of specific spiders so that you might be able to identify ones you find. It is a little pricey and complex so it isn't for casual interest.

Don't be misled, this is not a field guide for identification of spiders. This is a college level biology textbook. All photographs are in black and white. I was hard pressed to even recognize a common garden spider (Argiope Aurantia) in this book, even though I have one in my front yard shrubbery that I watch every day. This book probably contains more biological information than most people fascinated by spiders want to know.

What's this? Charlie Kaplan turned into a bug! Find out how, by reading Bug Boy by Carol Sonenklar. It's about a boy who can turn into bugs when he gets a Bug-A-View. Charlie has many adventures while he is a bug. I liked this book because in the beginning it was suspenseful when he didn't know what the Bug-A-View was. I think it would be so cool to be a bug. The author's message is of friendship. Even though you make new friends, you don't have to give up your old ones. Charlie has some exciting adventures. How will Charlie change back into human form? Read this book and find out!

How would it feel to be locked in a garbage truck? Well, that almost happened to Charlie Kaplan in the book Bug Boy, by Carol Sonenklar. This book is about a boy who changes into different insects. One day on his porch he finds something that looks like a flashlight. It says, �See the world from a bug�s eye view,� and that�s exactly what he does. I liked when he turned into a tarantula and crawled onto his mom�s face. She sneezed and he flew all the way to the back of the room. This story has a lot of insect adventures. Read this book to learn more about what happens to Charlie.

How would it feel if you were a fly? Charlie Kaplan becomes a fly in the book Bug Boy by Carol Sonenklar. I like this book because it is very cool that he turns into a bug. I give this book a ten. His favorite show is Spiderman and so is mine. I want to read Bug Girl too. I bet it will be really cool like Bug Boy. The author tells a lot about bugs like spiders and beetles in this book so you actually learn while you read. Will Charlie be a fly forever? Read this book to find out.

What would you do if you got a package and you didn't know who it was from? Bug Boy by Carol Sodenklar is about a boy who one day finds a package at the door. The package turns you into a bug when you say you want to be a bug. I like this book because I think it is funny that the kid is a bug. Can you imagine a boy being a bug? The author was writing this book to entertain kids. You should see what kind of bug he turns into! Read this book to find out!

Have you ever turned into a bug? You can find out in Bug Boy, by Carol Sonenklar. When one boy named Charlie Caplan gets a bug transformer he can turn into any bug he wants to. But he takes big risks being a bug. At one point in the book his teacher almost steps on him. I liked this book a lot because the author wrote it so well you could picture what was happening in your head. This book told me risks can be fun but dangerous. Will Charlie get eaten? You can find out in Bug Boy.