Books — Richard Conniff
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Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding TimeMy Life Doing Dumb Stuff with Animalsby Richard ConniffAn award-winning nature writer takes us on a thrilling journey deep into the domains of strange—and often dangerous—animals.Field journalist Richard Conniff examines the lives of two-, four-, six-, and eight-legged creatures from around the globe, providing adventure-packed accounts of his many ill advised forays into the animal kingdom. He pulls a 90-pound snapping turtle out of a Louisiana bayou, tracks leopards with Kung San hunters in the Namibian desert, and travels through the Himalayas in pursuit of tigers and the mythical migur. All in a day’s work, he flings chicken carcasses into piranha-infested waters to clock how quickly they disappear before diving in himself, and then encounters a man stung by 120 different species of insects, ranking their pain the way Robert Parker ranks wine. Again and again, Conniff courts the most dangerous animals and lives to tell the tale. This collection offers a rare chance to accompany him on death defying treks and see life through the lens of a bona-fide field naturalist. Reviews Here are some reviews of Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time: Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time – The Christian Science Monitor "Field naturalist Conniff’s animal adventures. . . are so amusing and full color that they burst right off the page. . . a quick and intensely pleasurable read." – SEED Magazine "Hilariously informative... This book will remind you why you always wanted to be a naturalist." – Outside Magazine "… frequently hysterical and always compelling essays ... " – The Day (New London, CT) "Richard Conniff's account of his adventures travelling the globe with researchers studying animal behaviour is as entertaining as the title suggests." – New Scientist "Richard Conniff writes with vibrancy and verve. His prose crackles with the leaves on an African savannah and shimmers with the sun on a Louisiana bayou." – Sacramento Book Review "Animal lovers will enjoy these true tales of adventure that make you laugh aloud or gasp in fear." – The Daily Star (Oneonta, NY) "Bright entertainment from a great explainer of the lives of animals." – Kirkus Reviews "Conniff’s poetic accounts of giraffes drifting past like sail boats, and his feeble attempts to educate Vervet monkeys on the wonders of tissue paper will leave your heart and sides aching. An excellent read." – BBC Focus Magazine W.W. Norton & Co. (May 4, 2009) |
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The Natural History of the Rich: A Field Guideby Richard Conniff"It might be difficult to see the connection between a rich woman swanning around in her Manolo Blahniks and some underpaid clipboard-wielding biologist slogging through the bush in battered Tevas," Conniff writes, but readers of this unusual and delightful exploration of the richest members of the human species will understand that connection and a whole lot more. Journalist and essayist Conniff compares the super-rich to the animal kingdom and provides a frame of reference for their behaviors and actions. Butterflies and moths, which camouflage their true colors when not with their own kind, provide a context for discussing concealment, display and the "inconspicuous consumption" of those born to money: the signs of wealth are displayed subtly to be recognized by those in the know. Conniff finds an animal model for philanthropy in a bird called the Arabian babbler, which, after forcing a gift of food on a companion, "lift[s] his beak in a special trill... like a socialite posing for an event photographer at the Breast Cancer Awareness barbecue." Other chapters provide insight into mating habits, dominance (the rough way and the nice way) and other rules of social intercourse. A keen observer of both animal and human nature, Conniff, who has written about the natural world for National Geographic and about the rich for Architectural Digest, neither patronizes nor demeans his subjects (after all, he notes, we all hope to be rich some day). He merely uses them and the natural world to illuminate a class of people and range of behaviors that few among us will ever have the opportunity to observe firsthand.Comments on The Natural History of the Rich: "Conniff offers a feast of research findings, and his suave, archly comic tone matches his subjects perfectly …" ~ The New York Times Book Review "Hilarious." ~ New York Magazine W.W. Norton & Company, 2002 |
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The Ape in the Corner OfficeUnderstanding the Office Beast in All of Usby Richard ConniffAlmost everyone is ambitious and wants to get ahead. But what’s the best way to do it? Simple, naked Social Darwinism? Become the biggest, baddest predator? The proverbial 800-pound gorilla? Or does nature teach us to be more subtle and sophisticated?Richard Conniff, the acclaimed author of The Natural History of the Rich, has survived savage beasts in the workplace jungle, where he inhabited the corner office as a publishing executive. He’s also spent time studying how animals operate in the real jungles of the Amazon and the African bush. What he shows in The Ape in the Corner Office is that nature built us to be nice. Doing favors, sharing food, grooming coworkers with kind words and hot gossip, building coalitions—these aren’t just our best tools for getting ahead, they also come straight from the natural world. The stereotypical Darwinian hard-charger supposedly thinks only about accumulating resources. But highly effectve apes know it’s often smarter to give them away. That doesn’t mean it’s a peaceable kingdom out there. Conflict and ugly issues of hierarchy abound. But Conniff shows how we can become more effective in our own lives by understanding how other species negotiate the tricky balance between conflict and cooperation. The Ape in the Corner Office connects with readers because it helps them understand what they’re really conserned about: How come he got the wing chair with the gold trim? Why didn’t I hear that juicy gossip first? How can I susrvive as that big ape’s subordinate without becoming a spineless yes-man? Why does being a lone wolf mean being a loser? And, yes, why is it that jerks seem to prosper? Crown Business, 2005 |