Continuing his line of books about the life and works of contemporary natural scientists ( Bat Man, Bear Man, Jackal Woman ), Pringle turns our attention to desert biologist Gary Polis. This scientist's studies of scorpions living in their natural habitat, along with Pringle's cogent description of the scorpion's life cycle, do much to belie the creature's universally bad reputation. Accompanied by full-color pictures of Gary Polis at work, as well as some dazzling close-up shots of scorpions in the wild, it's sure to be a hit with young readers interested in "scary" animals. (Ages 8-12)