Chew Toy of the Gnat Gods (Paperback or Softback)

Book by Lombardo, Bruce

Although I love the erudite musings of nature writers who have degrees in Shakespearean literature, sometimes the words get in the way of the wildlife. For a confirmed biology nerd, it is the obscure facts that make a great nature book. I want to be able to tell people at dinner parties about the visual purple in an osprey's eye, which lets it see through the surface glare of a lake and find its fishy prey. Or how a skink can cut off the blood supply to its tail and make it fall off. Or why a mole's fur grows straight up and down, so that it can go backward and forward in a tight tunnel. This collection of 50 essays covers the wet worlds of swamps and ocean, rivers and beaches, and is filled with interesting facts about dozens of creatures. The prose is both descriptive and humorous without pretension. Each chapter brings forth an "Imagine that!" from the reader; it is the kind of nature book you will enjoy reading out loud to adults and children. -- The Bloomsbury Review - March/April 1998 - Patricia J. Wagner

Bruce Lombardo's Chew Toy of the Gnat Gods is an entertaining and educational collection of 48 short essays on the wildlife of the Southeast coast. If you have ever wondered about the mating habits of lovebugs or tree frogs, the flight of flying squirrels or pelicans, or the appetites of indigo snakes and manatees, Chew Toy of the Gnat Gods will provide a fascinating glimpse into the lives of both well-known and lesser-known creatures of the Southeast. Taking the reader month by month through a year of close observations, Lombardo leads us, with humor and insight, into the lives of wood rats, hummingbirds, armadillos, ant lions, vultures, anhingas, fiddler crabs, loggerhead turtles and many other creatures. Having served as ranger and naturalist at several state and national parks and program director for Wilderness Southeast's wilderness trips in the Southeast and Latin American, Lombardo is the perfect guide to swamp, forest, salt marsh, and beach environments. Readers of all ages and locales will find each essay to be a thoughtful and surprising journey into the lives and behavior of other creatures. Lombardo also alerts the reader to the threats posed by human beings on the lives and habitats of many of these animals. With Carol Johnson-Unser's wonderful illustrations, Chew Toy of the Gnat Gods admirably fills an important gap for natural history books on the wildlife of the Southeast Coast. -- From Independent Publisher