Book of Deadly Animals

Consider, if you can, the case of Jacob Fowler, who heard what he thought was the sound of his own skull cracking between the jaws of a grizzly bear - only to discover that it was. Or the Arizonan jogger who ran a mile back to her car with a rabid fox clamped to her arm before driving to hospital for live-saving inoculations. Or the woman who was attacked by a hyena, dragged from her tent by her face, and survived to tell of her ordeal. The dangers of the animal kingdom are the stuff of legend, from the Champawat tigress of 19th century India, the world's most prolific killer of human beings on record, to the shark attacks of Matawan Creek, New Jersey, that are supposed to have inspired Jaws. But the reality of man's vulnerability and of nature's savage power is far more various and improbable than even the most inventive mind would imagine. In this unique work of nature writing, you will encounter the most formidable predators on land and sea - as well as the most overlooked, bizarre and surprising hazards that Mother Nature has to offer.

Meet the cougar that can leap 40 feet and clear 8-foot fences with a fully-grown deer in its jaws, the tapeworm that's been known to grow as long as 82 feet in the human gut and the elephant that single-handedly destroyed an oil tanker. Now marvel at the power of the Malayan tapir, the hidden dangers of the oriental rat flea, the unexpected perils of the eviscerating sloth bear and many, many more. Drawing on an enormous host of true encounters between man and beast, "The Book of Deadly Animals" is the world's most authoritative compendium of animal attacks on human beings. With mordant wit and expert timing, Gordon Grice provides a gripping journey to the dark side of the animal kingdom and a celebration of its humbling, savage glory.