Those interested in reading engaging accounts of scientific observations about a wide variety of plants and animals will do well to read Dr. Fail's short essays. A bonus in this small treasure trove of information is Dr. Fail's habit of introducing people and incidents into each essay. These are folk you will enjoy meeting, for all are eccentric, sometimes in bizarre ways. In these pages you will meet Daddy-Pop, the author's weird, brilliant, and often comical grandfather whose love of plants and animals inspired Gail to give much of her life to studying biology. Other essays tell of Gail Fail's siblings, who are all, she says, a bit odd. And there are other family members, friends, and colleagues whose life experiences get stirred into the delightful stories and unusual facts about cats, water bears, Brewers blackbirds, orb weavers, wild grapes, devil babies, and many other living things.