The "New York Times" Book of Insects Paperback – Import, 1 July 2003
Nicholas Wade . The Lyons Press . English
Over the course of evolution, insects have learned to live in every extremity of the earth, from the scorching sands of the Sahara to the snow-mantled wastelands of Antarctica, and have inhabited the planet 3000 times longer than humans. Collected here are the most curious and entertaining articles on the world of insects from award-winning "New York Times" writers, including Natalie Angier, William K. Stevens, Jane E. Brody, Malcolm W. Browne and Carol Kaesuk Yoon. Such wonders are revealed as the deadly love affairs of an Australian spider; the aerodynamic secrets of insect flight as demonstrated by a giant, smoke-spewing moth; and the industrious fungus-farming, leaf-cutting ants of the Amazon. From the mysterious monarch butterfly to the lowly dung beetle, there is much for humans to learn from these ancient survivors.
Categories: Action & Adventure
About the Author
Nicholas Wade is the author of four books about recent human evolution. They are addressed to the general reader interested in knowing what the evolutionary past tells us about human nature and society today. Before the Dawn, published in 2006, traces how people have evolved during the last 50,000 years. The Faith Instinct (2009) argues that religious behavior evolved because of the many benefits religion brings to society, from enforcing morality to energizing defense against enemies. A Troublesome Inheritance (2014) discusses the biological basis for the emergence of human races. The Origin of Politics (2025) traces evolution's reach in shaping both human nature and the structure of human societies, setting the framework for today's politics. Wade was born in Aylesbury, England, and educated at Eton and at King's College, Cambridge, where he studied natural sciences. He has worked at Nature and Science, two weekly scientific magazines, and, for many years, on the New York Times, where he was an editorial writer and science editor.
