Outside Books

Hampton Sides

Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison

And Other Urgent Inquiries into the Odd Nature of Nature

The best of Outside magazine's "The Wild File."

Join longtime Outside editor and contributor Hampton Sides as he rollicks through the fascinating, quirky questions readers ask about the world around them: Do beavers ever get squashed by the trees they're gnawing down? Why are there so many worms writhing on the sidewalk after a storm? What good are goosebumps? Why do llamas spit? What is the oldest living creature on earth? Focusing on natural history and outdoor lore, this collection ranges from the gothic to the comic to the cosmic. It includes the sorts of questions that most of us stopped asking (at least out loud) when we were eight years old. "The Wild File" is what question-and-answer columns should be but seldom are: an often surprising, sometimes zany, always insightful and informative back-and-forth between a devoted readership and its publication. The result is an enchanting and enriching collection of answers that open windows to more questions. 60 black-and-white illustrations.



Hampton Sides, contributing editor of Outside and editor of "The Wild File," is also the author of Ghost Soldiers. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Why Moths Hate Thomas Edison book jacket

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June 2001 / paperback original / ISBN 0-393-32150-9 / 224 pages / 6" x 8" / Nature
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