Cockroaches, spiders, scorpions, parasites, worms, rattlesnakes, dung beetles and hyenas are not, for most people, paragons of beauty in the natural world. In fact, most people would rather they were not there at all. In this book, Natalie Angier, one of the foremost American science writers, champions the cause of these `beasts', celebrating the diversity of the natural world, and including a plea for the preservation of nature on its own terms.