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More copies of this ISBN:The Superorganism: The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societiesby Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson
Review-a-Day (What is Review-a-Day?)"Ants are so much a part of our everyday lives that unless we discover them in our sugar bowl we rarely give them a second thought. Yet those minuscule bodies voyaging across the kitchen counter merit a closer look, for as entomologists Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson tell us in their latest book, they are part of a superorganism....The term "superorganism" was first coined in 1928 by the great American ant expert William Morton Wheeler. Over the ensuing eighty years, as debates around sociobiology and genetics have altered our perspectives, the concept has fallen in and out of favor, and Hölldobler and Wilson's book is a self-professed and convincing appeal for its revival." Tim Flannery, the New York Review of Books (read the entire New York Review of Books review) Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of The Ants render the extraordinary lives of the social insects in this visually spectacular volume. The Superorganism promises to be one of the most important scientific works published in this decade. Coming eighteen years after the publication of The Ants, this new volume expands our knowledge of the social insects (among them, ants, bees, wasps, and termites) and is based on remarkable research conducted mostly within the last two decades. These superorganisms — a tightly knit colony of individuals, formed by altruistic cooperation, complex communication, and division of labor — represent one of the basic stages of biological organization, midway between the organism and the entire species. The study of the superorganism, as the authors demonstrate, has led to important advances in our understanding of how the transitions between such levels have occurred in evolution and how life as a whole has progressed from simple to complex forms. Ultimately, this book provides a deep look into a part of the living world hitherto glimpsed by only a very few. 110 color and 100 black-and-white illustrations. Review:"The vast majority of insect species are solitary; only a relatively few orders of ants, bees and wasps are truly 'eusocial,' living in colonies with only one or a few reproductive females (ensuring all members are related) and workers who collaborate in complex behaviors choreographed by chemical signaling, situational cues and 'dances.' Following up their Pulitzer-winning tome The Ants, science professors Hölldobler and Wilson propose that, at their most sophisticated, eusocial colonies function in ways analogous to the cells of a single large organism (e.g., a vertebrate), which they term the 'Superorganism.' Hölldobler and Wilson's investigation has surprising implications for all types of social animals, including humans, as well as for 'thinking machines' that use decision-making algorithms. While evolution by natural selection is easy to describe (environment acting on random genetic variations to change biological characteristics), the authors manage the very difficult task of mapping its progress, precisely defining both the sequence of genetic changes and the environmental pressures involved. Formidable but rewarding, this study covers mathematical analysis as well as field data, but in a straightforward manner that guides readers from one remarkable fact or concept to the next, inspiring wonder at the origin of our own societies. 110 color and 100 b&w illus." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"Wilson and Hlldobler...bring an alienlike world to the notice of interested nonscientists." Booklist Review:"While the superorganism concept is not new, it has never been stated explicitly or explored on such a grand scale." Library Journal Synopsis:The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of The Antsrender the extraordinary lives of the social insects in this visually spectacular volume.
About the AuthorBert Hölldobler is Foundation Professor at Arizona State University and the recipient of numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and the Leibniz Prize. He lives in Arizona and Germany. Edward O. Wilson, a Harvard professor for nearly five decades, is the author of more than twenty books and the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes and the National Medal of Science. He lives in Lexington, Massachusetts. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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