Beginning with an overview of our relationship with snails, slugs and seasnails,he goes on to examine snail evolution; snail behavior and habitat; snails as food, medicine, and the source of useful chemicals and dyes; snail shells as collectible objects; and snails in literature, art, and popular culture. The author concludes with a plea for a reconsideration of the snail as a dignified,ancient creature that deserves our respect, rather than one to be squashed thoughtlessly underfoot after a shower of rain. Containing many surprising and quite beautiful illustrations, and written in an approachable, informal style, Snail will prove instructive to all who thought that this animal was simply a garden pest to be enthusiastically destroyed.