Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You: A Lively Tour Through the Dark Side of the Natural World
As host of Animal Planet’s grotesque but paradoxically popular show about parasites, The Monsters Inside Me, Riskin has endured his share of unsavory encounters with Mother Nature’s predatory side.  As he recounts at the beginning of this absorbing and witty, if sometimes stomach-churning, catalog of nature’s more gruesome proclivities, a botfly maggot once took up residence in his scalp.  Far from repelling him, the episode ignited a fascination for all creatures rapacious and parasitical whose close study, Riskin compellingly argues, is necessary to fully appreciate the complexity of life on Earth.  Using the seven deadly sins as a whimsical roadmap, Riskin here describes the unsettlingly “sinful” behaviors of not only parasites but all manner of plants and animals, from ducks to hyenas and (the author’s favorites) bats.  “Greed,” for instance, showcases newborn birds and sharks that bump off their siblings, “Gluttony” is embodied in  the toxins plants use to avoid being eaten. While not recommended for the squeamish, Riskin’s book is an entertaining and informative close-up look at the ingenious tricks nature’s creatures use to survive. --Carl Hays