LIVING THINGS THAT POISON, ITCH, AND STING

by Phyllis S. Busch ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 29, 1976

At a sort of handbook level but in more relaxed prose, Busch offers a little cautionary and first aid advice and a little natural history about a loosely classified assortment of animals and plants which afflict humans with everything from sneezes to death. The most curious story concerns the common blowfish whose poison parts are used in a popular Japanese delicacy that ""affects diners with a feeling of excitement"" though ""many deaths have resulted"" and chefs need licenses, and special first aid training, to prepare it. Busch tends to exaggerate the poisonous effects of many common plants and never mentions the quantities it takes to induce severe reactions; too, with no source notes we have to take her word for it that old wives' tales (printed and unprinted) have been duly investigated. Still, this is a readable, conceivably useful compendium--with adequate drawings, as black and white identification pictures go.

Pub Date: April 29, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Walker

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1976

Categories: NONFICTION