To anyone with even a small amount of arachnophobia, an oversized cover image of a leaping (flying? can they fly???) Phidippus apacheanus, the Apache Jumping Spider, may not be the greatest incentive to pick up a copy of Jillian Cowles new Amazing Arachnids – and yes, true to their name, they can jump.
While visiting the Festival of the Cranes at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, I naturally peeked in to the visitors center and the little shop operated by the Friends of the Bosque located there. Experience has taught me that very often these little refuge shops can be excellent locations to discover some very interesting books addressing the natural history of the local area – and indeed, this was the case here. While there were literally dozens of books seen on the shelves that were worthy of note, those that follow particularly caught my attention.
As Bowden told Brooke Gladstone during an interview on WNYC’s On the Media regarding his recent book Dreamland, “My dream is to invite a reader into a room and pour a nice cup of tea and then nail the damn door shut.” It is a dream that he has unquestionably realized.