Review by Booklist Review
Preeminent biologist, environmentalist, and writer Wilson elucidates his arresting, paradigm-altering ideas in books such as Genesis: The Deep Origins of Species (2019), while sharing reflections and anecdotes aimed at nurturing a love of science and the living world in more personal works such as this entertaining and eye-opening collection of brief, vivid essays. Wilson tells stories of his peripatetic, nature-focused childhood and the sense of wonder that has propelled him through decades of discoveries. He was only 13 when he found, in the vacant lot beside the house his great-grandfather built in Mobile, Alabama, the first recorded nest of invasive fire ants. Wilson is modest about his extraordinary achievements, which include deciphering how ants use pheromones to communicate, and in-depth observations of hundreds of distinct ant species and their different personalities, ranging from timid to bellicose, and astonishingly varied adaptations and strategies for survival. With exciting accounts of global expeditions and charming admissions of his abiding enthrallment to the web of life on what could be called Planet of the Ants, Wilson offers a welcome immersion in little-appreciated aspects of the biosphere.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Wilson (Genesis: On the Deep Origin of Societies), a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and Harvard emeritus professor of entomology, delivers an illuminating work filled with insights into his specialty subject: ants. Hoping to "reach students--even 10 years old is not too young--interested in the prospect of a scientific career," Wilson presents his lifelong fascination with these insects, an interest that has taken him on research trips all over the globe, as an "adventure story." He explains how, in 1942, at the age of 13, he determined that the vacant lot next to his home in Mobile, Ala., held four species of ants; how in 1958, as a faculty member at Harvard, he set out to "learn the pheromone language" of fire ants; and how in 2011 he visited New Caledonia in search of the extremely rare New Caledonian bull ant, to perform one of the first "studies of rarity and extinction" involving an invertebrate. He also describes the fastest ants, the slowest ants, ants that are gardeners, and ants that are ranchers, always placing his findings in an evolutionary context. Wilson's passion for his subject, for the scientific method, and for the natural world comes through clearly in this enjoyable survey. Agent: John Taylor Williams, Kneerim & Williams. (Aug.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
The father of sociobiology focuses on his first love in his latest title. Wilson (emeritus, Harvard Univ. Ctr. for the Environment) has spent most of his 90 years studying ants, from discovering fire ants in the United States to becoming the world's foremost myrmecologist. He has written many books and articles, including two Pulitzer Prize winners, The Ants and On Human Nature. But in this work, Wilson wants to inspire both adults and children to see the adventurous side of studying ants, how they communicate with one another, and how we communicate with them. He offers ideas of how to run experiments in one's kitchen and tells of some of the fiercest ants he's encountered and how to handle them. Wilson takes a meandering look at his own explorations, as he writes about his travels around the world in search of these tiny creatures, including their thousands of diverse species, from frigid mountain tops to the depths of dark caves. VERDICT Readers seeking an accessible natural history on an often-misunderstood insect will appreciate Wilson's modest, conversational tone in this brief look at his lifetime of appreciating nature's small wonders, whether found in the backyard--or in the home.--Elissa Cooper, Helen Plum Memorial Lib., Lombard, IL
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The world-renowned ant expert cleans out his desk, which--no surprise--contains many gems. Pulitzer Prize--winning author and naturalist Wilson's writing on broader scientific subjects have won him awards and no lack of controversy. Now 90, largely retired from fieldwork and scholarship but an indefatigable writer, he has assembled scraps of autobiography and anecdotes on his favorite insect. The author provides evidence that the secret of happiness lies in having an obsession rather than money, talent, genius, or even a cheerful disposition. From childhood, passion for natural history consumed him, beginning with all creatures, then focused on insects and, eventually, ants. Other memoirists agonize over dysfunctional parents, questionable friends, disappointment in love, or poor life decisions. Wilson has had his share, but he also has ants, which provide contentment in his life. With regular detours into personal experiences, the author delivers two dozen chapters on their history, ecology, diet, and the organization of the colony (no ant lives alone), without ignoring the dozens of parasites it supports. Ants make up the dominant land carnivore in their size range, and estimates show that "all the living ants weigh about the same as all the living humans." Though infectiously enthusiastic about ants, Wilson is no sentimentalist; he warns that nothing about an ant's life provides moral uplift. Males are useless except as sources of sperm for the queen. Females do all the work, and "service to the colony is everything." Young ants work at safe jobs such as attending the queen. As they grow older, their jobs become riskier--from sentinel to forager to guard to warrior. Put more plainly, "where humans send their young adults into battle, ants send their old ladies." Workers who encounter a dead ant in the nest dump it "in the colony refuse pile," unless they eat it. If it's only injured and dying, they eat it. Though somewhat disorganized, the content and quality of the writing is consistently top-notch. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
