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Review
Beautifully written and illustrated...These fifteen chapters are a bustling but well-organized ant heap, full of wonders natural and intellectual. -- Philip Morrison Scientific American Everyone should read Journey to the Ants; it is a book to read right through; I have done so twice so far. It brings back the joy of science and restores the sense of wonder, it is truly food for thought. For me it is a beloved book that will stay at my bedside. -- James E. Lovelock Times Higher Education Supplement Holldobler and Wilson have carefully distilled more than 80 years of their combined personal research and thorough knowledge of the literature to produce a book that is both packed with ideas and information and a joy to read. The authors subtitled their book 'A Story of Scientific Exploration' and, like all good stories, it has a logical progression and sensible themes and is hard to put down. -- C. Ronald Carroll American Scientist
Product Description
"Journey to the Ants" combines autobiography and scientific lore to what study of ants can offer. Bert Holldobler and E.O. Wilson interweave their personal adventures with the social lives of ants, building, from the first minute observations of childhood, an account of these abundant insects' evolutionary achievement.
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OUR PASSION IS ANTS, and our scientific discipline is myrmecology. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
OUR PASSION IS ANTS, and our scientific discipline is myrmecology. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Most people seem to think of ants only as pests, to be exterminated by whatever means possible. They undermine the root systems of our flowers and vegetables, farm aphids on our tomatoes, raid our kitchens and picnics and generally make a blooming nuisance of themselves. So it's refreshing to hear from a couple of their biggest fans. Wilson and Hölldobler present a whole different view of ants: ancient (they've been here for a 100 million years or more), fantastically well adapted to their various environments, ecologically indispensable, incredibly diverse (about 9,500 recorded species and probably that number again still undiscovered) and unbelievably interesting. There are army ants and honeypot ants, ants that take prisoners to use as slaves, ants that live as parasites on other ants, ants that cover themselves in muck to achieve an effective camouflage, ants with jaws like dangerous farm implements, ants that farm crops and ants that herd stock. They live underground, in mounds, in trees, in logs, in my pantry - you name it. There are all sorts of different domestic arrangements in different ant species - some have multiple queens for example (and occasional civil wars) but, in general, the queen is the head and the heart of the colony. Without the queen the colony is dead - even if the poor little workers are still moving around. That's why an ant colony is regarded as a superorganism. No ant is an island. When did you ever see just one at your picnic?
This book is as easy to read as any novel and more interesting than most. The authors' delight and enthusiasm shines through and infects the reader. I challenge anyone to read this book and not end up feeling some degree of respect, even affection, for the little critters.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I haven't enjoyed a book like this in a long time. I plan to re-read it soon. It leaves you boogled by the complexity that can be introduced by simple evolutionary rules. That fun part is that it is rooted in a reality that can be found on the sidewalks and in your back yard. I almost gave it a ten, but I wanted to leave myself some room to grow. It is a great book.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is easy to read. Could easily be used by elementary, middle school, and secondary school teachers to prepare a number of interesting lessons and scientific projects. Not only can insects (ants in particular, of course) but society, community, non-linguistic communication, evolution, and putting the universe into a size perspective provides many areas for class discussion. "Ants are oblivious to human existence." An incredible statement that will spark great conversation. Ants do not even know we are here! And they wont miss us when we are gone. After we have destroyed our natural habitat, they will continue to live in their microwildernesses. Text also provides a brief chapter on how to collect and observe ants and ant colonies. I am a language teacher but found reading this text simple and interesting.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A long journey to the ants
Since I've pounced on Edward Wilson's sociobiological books in another review, I guess it's time to give the devil his due. Yes, Eddie is a very good myrmecologist! Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ashtar Command
Spendid book on ants....
This is a splendid book on ants!
It's main assets are - readability, coverage, expertice and the illustrations. Read more
It's main assets are - readability, coverage, expertice and the illustrations. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2009 by KRWS
Journey To The Ants
'Journey To The Ants' is an amazing book looking at the life and evolution of these incredible, tenacious little insects. Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2008 by Spider Monkey
Truly a fascinating adventure to another world
Journey to the Ants is a shorter version of the authors' monumental The Ants (1990), a 732-page tome aimed at professional biologists with a lot of technical language and a clear... Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2008 by Dennis Littrell
A magnificent pilgrimage
There are only a few writers who truly capture the natural world's complex structure, presenting it in a readable manner. Edward Wilson is one of these. Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2005 by Stephen A. Haines
A very good reference to have regardless of your level.
This is an outstanding work on the subject which is easy to read at many levels. Although many of the species featured are not native to the most of the information is relevant. Read more
Published on 7 May 2000
Fascinating
A wonderful book introducing to a wonderful world. A page turner. I would suggest it to everybody.
Published on 30 Nov 1999
It explains a different view of the ants.
This book is a very well written one. It explains not only the life of the ants but the facts that sorround them, as the environment, the food, the sociology, the enemies, the... Read more
Published on 15 Jan 1998
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