Spider Silk: Evolution and 400 Million Years of Spinning, Waiting, Snagging, and Mating

This is a fascinating and readable account of one of the great, overlooked mysteries of life.
- Simon Barnes, The Times

". . . [a] remarkable history of evolutionary innovations in silk spinning by spiders. . . effective and entertaining."
- Quarterly Review of Biology

". . . an ideal introduction to spiders and a tempting peek at the field of silk research that. . . will leave the reader forever fascinated and enthused by these wonderful web weavers."
- BioScience

"This wonderful book cures arachnophobia for any lucky reader. Brunetta and Craig combine superb scholarship with engaging writing, providing a compelling introduction to evolution in action through the lens of spiders and their silks."
- Simon Levin, Princeton University, author of "Fragile Dominion"

"From black widows to balloon-riders and bola-swingers, spider evolution depends critically on a few proteins in silk. Brunetta and Craig weave genetics and behavior into a silky-smooth portrait of this fascinating group."
- Richard Wrangham, Harvard University, author of "Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human"

"'Spider Silk'--a wonderful, charismatic natural history of spiders--will truly inspire all readers who may never before have appreciated this unique group of organisms."
- Margaret Lowman, author of "Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology" and of "It's a Jungle Up There: More Tales from the Treetops"

"In 'Spider Silk', Leslie Brunetta and Catherine Craig offer a history of this marvelous stuff that readers will find surprisingly compelling--for not only the astonishing complexity of spider silk itself, but also the many uses that spiders have created over the ages. It is, in other words, the epitome of evolutionary innovation."
- Carl Zimmer, author of "Parasite Rex" and "The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution"

"The book is full of amusing facts and observations. Definitely for the general reader with a keen interest in natural history."
- Tibor Fischer, Sunday Telegraph

"This is a compelling and immensely readable account that engages the reader from start to finish[...]A helpful index is also included, and a series of colour plates illustrate some of the book's subjects and themes[...]This well-produced book is a valuable and enjoyable contribution to fostering awareness of spider evolution[...]Buy it for your own interest, or as a gift for your favourite arachnophobe--you might just make a convert!" - Tim R. New, Journal Of Insect Conservation (Australia)

"'Spider Silk' weaves together principles of genetics, biochemistry and evolution to explain the diversity and function of spider's silks. This book is a model for next generation biology texts."
- Cynthia Sagers, University of Arkansas

"The language is lively and a passion for the subject shines through."
- Sue Howarth, The Biologist Vol.57 No.3

"Supremely absorbing book."
- Ben Hoare, BBC Wildlife Magazine

Leslie Brunetta is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in the New York Times, Technology Review, and the Princeton Alumni Weekly as well as on NPR and elsewhere.

Catherine L. Craig, author of the monograph "Spiderwebs and Silk", is an internationally recognized evolutionary biologist, arachnologist, and authority on silk.