Product Description
At last, the secrets of the Arachnid Empire are revealed! This 160 page full colour hardback is packed full of information on the bugs, whether you are a trooper dedicated to saving the Federation or a Games Master looking to terrify your players. The Arachnid Empire includes a complete update on the universe of Starship Troopers, detailing the Road to Victory campaign, the disastrous Klendathu Invasion and its aftermath. A complete bug colony is mapped out, allowing you to set scenarios and camapigns based around raids into Ararchnid-held territory (cowards need not apply!), and there is a guide to over 30 different sub-species of bug! Added to this is information on Arachnid society, their aims and tactics, and you have a complete guide to Mankind's greatest threat. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good, but could have been much better
For fans of the d20 Starship Troopers roleplaying game, this volume was very much anticipated.Sadly, like most situations where you wait and wait and the anticpation builds for a certain product, the end result is usually disappointing, which was the case with this book.

Whilst I appreciate that the writer(s) did not want to prescribe too much detail, thereby limiting creative GM's games, the book tries to tackle an immense and extremely important topic and then condense it down to 160 pages.What results is a middle of the road offering that ultimately poses far more questions than answers.

The book is broken down six chapters: 1 - The Arachnid War, 2 - Planets, 3 - Warfare, 4 - Society & Physiology, 5 - Sub Species and 6 - Bug Central Charlie Victor.

Chapter One doesn't offer anything that a fan of the game doesn't already know; although it does give a nice blow-by-blow account of the Klendathu invasion.

Chapter Two describes the planets that make up the Arachnid Quarrantine Zone - but only in the most superficial manner and this for me was the most disappointing part of the whole book, especially since this is the essence of the entire book.Additionally, the map provided bears no relation to the one provided in the base rule book and clearly shows only a small portion of the AQZ (again very frustrating!).Why this is so important is due to the fact that mankind supposedly first encountered the Bugs on Pluto in the Sol system.Given the Arachanids apparently haphazard colonisation process, described in a later chapter, logic would dictate that this would mean that there would be a trail of colonies from the Alpha Hydrae system (Arachnid homeworld system) all the way to Pluto.However, the writer has decided that the Arachnids are in nicely enclosed little corner of space...which begs so many questions, such as if they are enclosed in a nice little corner of space, why did they travel tens of thousands of light years to the Sol system to populate a freezing plantetoid on the fringes of the system?

Chapter Three describes how the Arachnids conduct warfare across all three dimensions, all environments and takes special note of how the arachnids handle various MI incursions into their territory.Again, some interesting points, but its mostly been covered in previous publications.

Chapter Four describes the history of the arachnid species, life-cycles, society etc.This is an interesting chapter, because most of this stuff is only hinted at in previous publications.I think the only glarring omission here is the fact that there is no discussion on the 'Arachnid Empire', is there a Queen of Queens that directs the Arachnid colonisation process and direction? The book states that new colonies generally only occur when an existing colony gets to big and so Arachnid spawn is fired off into space...and yet somehow in this chaotic and seemingly random process some spawn managed to reach Pluto??? (re my point about no coherent trail of colonies from the AQZ to Pluto) - it's these sorts of inconsistencies that ultimately make the book very ho-hum instead of WOW!

Chapter Five details the myrid sub-species of Arachnids and goes to great length to show how adaptable the Arachnids are.This is generally a 'crunchy' chapter with lots of game stats for the various bugs.There is only one silly entry, which is the 'Control Bug'.These bugs are supposedly meant to latch onto the back of a target's neck and inject their proboscis into the character's brain thereby controlling the target's action.Nice concept.Then it comes unravelled.Firstly, the picture shows the control bug to be about as tall as a standard human's mid calf and has a length of about a standard size 10 human foot.Under the bio report it is described as having a weight of 25 Kgs!Can you imagine a 25kg bug the size of half a human leg going unnoticed as it controlled the actions of a MI Trooper (ignoring for the moment of the impracticality of it hanging off the back of the neck)??!?!Again, simple silly stuff that really detracts from the book.Then there's the transport bug, which takes silliness to a new level...

The final chapter showcases what is meant to be an entire bug colony! Wow, that would be cool....except it goes nowhere acheiving this lofty goal.Instead we get a two-dimensional schematic of PART of a standard bug colony, with the warning that due to the size of bug colony's it's impossible to show it in its entirety! But isn't that what was advertised?This gripe aside, the text for this chapter is actually pretty good - it details the main parts of a standard colony and then shows what kind of resistance a MI unit can expect in each part and level of alert that the colony is at.

The book then finishes off with a range of new missions, that are generic in nature.Players familiar with the base rule book missions will find these missions familiar in their layout.The beauty of these missions is that (except for the first one) are all lethal and make for some great game sessions!

Overall the book barely scrapes in at three stars - but there is enough in it to make it worth purchasing.

Enjoy.


... Read more

Product Description
A detailed manual (with 15 photographs and illustrations)on how to avoid the stings and bites of the Southwest's dangerousarachnids-and what to do if you don't! A homeowner's guide toeradicating these critters without resorting to pesticides. The bookincludes a detailed description of the history and habits of thecritter, a section on the Black Widow of interest to residents outsidethe Southwest, an extensive scientific bibliography, and a fulllisting of the nation's Poison Control Centers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not worth the paper it is printed on
This book is an example of an inflated ego believing it is an expert on everything. The author claims expertise due to the fact that he lives in an area where scorpions also live. He writes:

'Ten years of living in the high desert country of Arizona provided my background experience for studying ways of handling the scorpion menace. Let's be honest: they are a menace to the comfort and safety of adults and to the lives of children, the elderly or infirm and all friendlier domestic life forms-our pets.'

The author describes scorpions as 'killing machines' and 'lethal', and yet in the final pages he admits that no scorpion has killed anyone in the United States within the last thirty years! Meanwhile we read in the newspaper many times a month about how one of our 'friendlier domestic life forms-our pets' has taken the life of yet another human.

Oddly the author recommends, since scorpions are so 'lethal', that every one (along with cobras, water mocassins, etc.) be exterminated. According to the numbers (scorpions - 0, dogs - manyfold) if we were to follow his logic we should exterminate our dogs instead (not that I'm a fan of that idea either).

The book shows many pictures of scorpions identified as the 'lethal' bark scorpion. Instead, the pictures are of a Vaejovis species, a different, and essentially harmless type. Further, though the scorpion is pictured 'on the porch', 'on the ceiling' etc., the images are clearly of a dead scorpion whose legs are in identical position throughout. No doubt the picture of it on the ceiling was taken on a sheet of paper then the image was turned upside down. The captions on the photos are about as accurate as the rest of the 'information' in the book.

We currently keep several thousand live scorpions of various species. I have surveyed the bark scorpions of the Grand Canyon on scientific expedition. We deal with live scorpions on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. When asked her opinion of the book my girlfriend read it through carefully and finally pointed to a small section and said,'This paragraph isn't so bad'. Unfortunately it was the only one.

If you want a book chock full of misinformation, hype, and paranoia, this book is for you. If you'd like an accurate depiction of scorpions look elsewhere. I'd recommend buying this book only if one is already quite familiar with scorpions and is interested in a bit of humor in the manner that old black and white movies about arachnids are often so bad they're good.

The only reason I gave this book two stars instead of one is because it made us laugh several times and one can never have too much laughter.

Oddly the author is apparently a psychiatrist yet admits a virulent phobia of scorpions. Physician, heal thyself. And stop writing 'books'.

This book was so awful and I hardly know where to begin.
Near the beginning of the book the author makes it painfully obvious he knows next to nothing about scorpions or ecosystems with his statement that "The world does not need scorpions" and goes on to suggest that snakes, scorpions, spiders, etc. should be wiped from the face of the earth.In truth, scorpions eat insects which are far more damaging to human health and economics than scorpions ever were.

Throughout the book scorpions are frequently referred to as "poisonous" when in fact they are venomous, and in a few places it even refers to scorpion "bites" instead of stings (scorpions do not bite).These may seem to be minor details but considering the author's credentials such oversights are a little disturbing.

The book was also inconsistent and confusing.The first few chapters make scorpions out to be most dreadful creatures that "wish you no good" and exist only to torment humans, then the author goes on to explain you don't need to fear them, and then reiterates how horrible they are.

The section on black widows was not nearly as bad as the scorpion section, but the author does recommend using pesticides to eliminate them.The hazards of using pesticides in and around the home far outweigh the hazards of having black widows present.Black widows, like scorpions, feed on those insects which pose a greater threat to human health, for instance the mosquitoes which carry West Nile Virus.Even if you cannot bring yourself to catch the spider in a cup for release outside, they are easy enough to squash with a flyswatter and avoid the lingering poisons of pesticides.

As someone who very much likes spiders and scorpions and keeps them as pets (including the "deadly" and "poisonous" species the book focuses on), I found much of this book very offensive and was often quite saddened by it.I will admit however that the chapter on "scorp proofing", done without pesticides,actually contains some pretty good advice. The rest of the book, however, contains little more than hype and misinformation.

Interesting and full of good ideas
This book has some good suggestions on ways to keep these pests out ofyour house.Written in an informal, easy-to-read style. ... Read more

Product Description

Originally published in 1969 this book analyzes the development of moral judgement in children and adolescents. Interviews were held with 360 children aged 7 to 17, with equal numbers of either sex. Original visual devices were planned to elicit judgements in moral areas known to be of universal significance, such as the value of life, cheating, stealing and lying. In addition, analyses of concepts of reciprocity, of the development of conscience and of specificity in moral judgement were derived from the tests. The book inlcudes a critical survey of previous work in this field and places the research in its wider philosophical, psychological and sociological context.

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Scorpion, Tarantula, Ornithoctoninae, Lasiodora Parahybana, Avicularia, Pinktoe Tarantula. Excerpt:Avicularia Avicularia is a genus of the family Theraphosidae containing various species of tarantulas . The genus is native to tropical South America . Each species in the genus has very distinguishable pink feet pads. A Pinktoe tarantula launching a jet of excrement in defense. One of the most notable features of the Avicularia species is its odd method of defense. When threatened, their first choice is to jump or run away as quickly as possible - occasionally, though, they will launch a jet of excrement at the perceived threat. Adults are capable of good accuracy and a range of 0.5 1 m (2 or 3 feet). There is also a belief that they may be the reason behind rumors of "flying spiders" in the rainforests they are native to, as they are quite adept at jumping. Their legs, however, prevent them from gaining much height in making a jump. Avicularia avicularia are among the tarantulas most commonly kept as pets. Photos Avicularia versicolor baby. Avicularia versicolor. Avicularia purpurea Species item Avicularia affinis (Nicolet, 1849) Chile item Avicularia alticeps (Keyserling , 1878) Uruguay item Avicularia ancylochira Mello-Leitão , 1923 Brazil item Avicularia anthracina (C.L. Koch , 1842) Uruguay) item Avicularia aurantiaca Bauer, 1996 Peru) item Avicularia avicularia (Linnaeus , 1758) Costa Rica to Brazil, the Pinktoe tarantula item Avicularia aymara (Chamberlin , 1916) Peru item Avicularia azuraklaasi Tesmoingt, 1996 Peru item Avicularia bicegoi Mello-Leitão, 1923 Brazil item Avicularia braunshauseni Tesmoingt, 1999 Brazil, the Goliath pinktoe item Avicularia caesia (C. L. Koch, 1842) Puerto Rico item Avicularia cuminami Mello-Leitão, 1930 Brazil item Avicularia detrita (C. L. ... ... Read more

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This is a series of multi-disciplinary units of instruction capitalizing on student interest and spotlighting necessary skill development. It's intended to extend and enrich the elementary school curriculum ... Read more

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Chapters: Spiders of North America, Brown Recluse Spider, Cheiracanthium Inclusum, Argiope Aurantia, Hobo Spider, Mexican Redknee Tarantula, European Garden Spider, Ixodes Scapularis, Bagheera Kiplingi, Antrodiaetidae, Nephila Clavipes, Peucetia Viridans, Gasteracantha Cancriformis, Spruce-Fir Moss Spider, Southern House Spider, Aphonopelma, Grass Spider, Sphodros Rufipes, Dolomedes Tenebrosus, Myrmekiaphila Neilyoungi, Lutica, Brachypelma Vagans, Dolomedes Scriptus, Attidops, Argiope Argentata, Myrmecotypus, Brachypelma Emilia, Barn Spider, Neoleptoneta, Brachypelma Klaasi, Misumenops, Sosippus, Philoponella Vicina, Arctic Wolf Spider, Saltonia Incerta, Calponia Harrisonfordi, Sassacus Cyaneus, Hibana, Bowl and Doily Spider, Leucauge Venusta, Sphodros Niger, Blacktailed Red Sheetweaver, Hibana Velox, Admestina, Brachypelma Albopilosum, Tooth Cave Spider, Kukulcania, Nanoa, Nihoa Trapdoor Spider, Cyclosternum Fasciatum, Dolloff Cave Spider, Microhexura, Kukulcania Arizonica, Hogna Ericeticola, Ixodes Uriae, Lake Placid Funnel Wolf Spider, Key Gnaphosid Spider, Anicius, Torreya Trap-Door Spider, Bredana, Hogna Aspersa, Misumenops Celer, Glacier Bay Wolf Spider, Colima. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 166. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The brown recluse spider or violin spider, Loxosceles reclusa, is a well-known member of the family Sicariidae (formerly placed in a family "Loxoscelidae"). Brown recluse spiders are usually between 620 mm (¼ in and ¾ in), but may grow larger. They may be brown or gray and usually have markings on the dorsal side of their cephalothorax, with a black line coming from it that looks like a violin with the neck of the violin pointing to the rear of the spider, resulting in the nicknames fiddleback spider, brown fiddler or violin spider. The brown reclus...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=59746 ... Read more

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Scott Foresman Reading 2.3.3 ... Read more

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The author has earned a B.S. in entomology, a masters in soil and crop science, and a Ph.D. in entomology, all from Texas A&M University in College Station, Robert Breene is pretty sure that, "I are an triple aggie," but isn't absolutely certain. Breene teaches entomology, ecology, invertebrate zoology and other courses at the Carlsbad campus of the College of the Southwest. He is the editor "head honcho" of the American Tarantula Society (since 1991), the largest arachnid society in the world, which publishes a magazine, a scientific journal, and sells educational materials and arachnids. He has 35 scientific publications (including three books). Otherwise, Breene specializes in popular science articles, editorials, and satire with over 700 total articles (and three more books) published in many newspapers and magazines. ... Read more