- ISBN13: 9780375423864
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
A stunningly original exploration of the ties that bind us to the beautiful, ancient, astoundingly accomplished, largely unknown, and unfathomably different species with whom we share the world.
For as long as humans have existed, insects have existed, too. Wherever we’ve traveled, they’ve traveled, too. Yet we hardly know them, not even the ones we’re closest to: those that eat our food, share our beds, and live in our homes.
Organizing his book alphabetically with one entry for each letter, weaving together brief vignettes, meditations, and extended essays, Hugh Raffles embarks on a mesmerizing exploration of history and science, anthropology and travel, economics, philosophy, and po… More >>
This book is about those moments when you’ve thought the cockroach in the sink was staring back at you. It is not about entomology, and it’s not science. It’s about how human imagination brings insects into view in unexpected ways, and it’s about the ways insects can show people in a curious light. It’s about finding out that you are surrounded by thousands of bugs that never bother you, and it’s about that moment of sickness when you learn how many spiders you swallow at night. The writing doesn’t argue but rather demonstrates through the use of often dainty details and metaphors that can be as fragile as the wings of a fly. Sometimes the language can be too fragile – but overall it’s generous, playful, and quite a joy to read.
Rating: 5 / 5
Insectopedia is an intriguing study of the human world through its relationships with insects. Why do we have such a visceral revulsion to cockroaches, but not (for example) ladybugs? What does the intricate communication methods of bees (physical movement), pine beetles (auditory), and ants (chemical) say about our verbal language? How does a fly process visual information — and can we ever really “see” from another creature’s viewpoint?
Particularly interesting chapters include a first hand account of Chinese cricket fighting, the history of the theory of evolution through insect study, and the amazing chapter about honeybee dances — great cocktail party fodder! Did you know researchers can translate bees’ dances into coordinates (as in, “there’s a great stash of spilled jam 90 yards to the southeast”)? Who *doesn’t* find this stuff fascinating?!
The author is an anthropologist, not an entomologist. If you’re looking for a simple guide to insects, this is not the book you’re looking for. But if you’re curious about how the worlds of insects and humans collide, Insectopedia is an interesting read. You know that insects outnumber humans by some 200 million to one, right? I, for one, welcome the knowledge about our future insect overlords.
Rating: 4 / 5
Insectopedia is an ingenious, original book by brilliant scholar and writer that goes deep
into a miniature world that reflects and philosophizes on just about everything in the human size world.
Insectopedia gives the reader all at once the spirit of l9th century delirious excitement, modernist story telling,
highly sophisticated humor in the telling, and an incisive journalistic account of particular places that few have gone to.
Hugh Raffles’ writing and the accounts of his mysterious journeys are a pure and absolute pleasure to read.
— Toni Schlesinger
Rating: 5 / 5
I love this book. Such an unusual, creative, and interesting way to think about the world – examining human life through our relationships with insects. There are so many fascinating stories here and they take you all over the world, to meet people in China, Japan, Africa, Switzerland, and other places and discover their lives through their unusual and intriguing connections to insects. Along the way, I learned not only many new facts about both people and insects but also, and this is no exaggeration, a new way of looking at the world and its inhabitants, human and animal. And a fun read to boot!
Rating: 5 / 5
Hugh Raffles’s Insectopedia is a beautifully and ever-so-carefully constructed opening into the world(s) of insect/ human relations, inviting readers to reconsider how we think about these little animals, both in our lives and in the lives which are their own. Perhaps the discomfort of some reviewers comes from the inability of the writing to fit squarely in science/ nature writing or in literature (technical vs. descriptive), as it forces the question of where the boundary may lie. This book is not merely about insects, but about the possibilities of knowing them and the possibilities of writing grandly about something so… small.
Rating: 5 / 5