Colophon

The animal on the cover of Building Node Applications with MongoDB and Backbone is the small Indian civet (Viverricula indica), which is found across south and southeast Asia as well as in the Indonesian archipelago. The animal is named for the thick yellowish musky-odored substance it produces in self defense.

The small Indian civet is slender, agile in climbing trees, has no erectile mane, and lives in holes in rocky and brushy locations. It is nocturnal, solitary, and usually arboreal; that is to say, it climbs trees and stays there. However, when hunting, it opts for ground level. The civet is basically omnivorous—its diet consists of lizards, rodents, birds, insects, and even eggs. In captivity, it is easily tamed and feeds on small animals, which it catches with cat-like dexterity.

The small Indian civet is gray or tawny in color with rows of black spots on the body and stripes on the tail. Its legs, ears, and muzzle are also black.

The civet produces a musk (also called civet), which is highly valued as a fragrance and stabilizing agent for perfume. Both male and female civets produce the strong-smelling secretion, which is produced by the civet’s perineal glands. Humans have been known to hunt the civet for its meat, and purify its skin into medicine.

The cover image is from Shaw’s Zoology. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag’s Ubuntu Mono.

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