Where would you look if I asked you to find three living creatures that are known by the common names of Spectaclecase, Pigtoe, and Elephant Ear? To be honest, prior to giving Abbie Gascho Landis’ new book “Immersion; The Science and Mystery of Freshwater Mussels” a quick perusal, I myself wouldn’t have had a clue.
Ever since I read her brilliant book “Stiff; the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” (on a trans-U.S. airplane flight, no less – talk about making one’s fellow seat mates uncomfortable!) I have delighted in her ability to take a range of topics that most people would think to be somewhere between uncomfortable (“Gulp”) and unmentionable (“Bonk”), and turn them into lively, eye-opening books.