A taut, vibrant story of awesome creatures and how humans have found countless ingenious uses for them.
An exploration of how insects have influenced every corner of the world.
“As of 2020,” writes environmental studies professor Melillo, “there are 1.3 billion insects for every human on the planet.” That alone makes them a vital presence in our lives. In this succinct, colorful contribution to entomological literature, the author also reminds us that they are dominant actors in the processes of reproduction and decay as well as important players throughout human history. While Melillo doesn’t completely ignore the destructive aspects of our interactions with insects—from insects as vectors to illness to the harmful use of insecticides—he spends more time examining how “insects make many of the substances that pervade our daily lives: fabrics, dyes, furniture varnishes, food additives, high-tech materials, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical ingredients.” The author looks at the long, diverse historical traditions involved with honey and the making of “iron gall ink,” an “indelible, waterproof substance [that has] served as Europe’s most important ink for the past two millennia.” He also discusses the production of shellac, the resinous, amber-colored secretion of the tiny lac bug that has been used as a coating for wooden products—not least of which were the violins of Antonio Stradivari—as well as a key ingredient in pioneering phonographic discs. Silk is an even more ancient product of insect industriousness, and Melillo draws a captivating picture of China’s 5,000-year-old sericulture industry and the extraordinary structural qualities of the silk thread. The cultural significance of the color red makes for especially good reading about the cochineal insect, the rare source of a peerless red pigment. The author also tells entertaining tales of the role of fruit flies in biomedical research; bees, pollination, and colony collapse disorder; and the future of entomophagy, “the eating of insects.”
A taut, vibrant story of awesome creatures and how humans have found countless ingenious uses for them.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5247-3321-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.
The third volume in the Elephant Whisperer series.
In this follow-up to An Elephant in My Kitchen, Malby-Anthony continues her loving portrait of the Thula Thula wildlife reserve, which she co-founded in 1998 with her late husband, South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony, who published the first book in the series, The Elephant Whisperer, in 2009. Following his death in 2012, Malby-Anthony sought to honor his legacy by continuing his vision “to create a massive conservancy in Zululand, incorporating our land and other small farms and community land into one great big game park.” At the same time, the elephants gave her “a sense of purpose and direction.” In the Zulu language, thula means quiet, and though the author consistently seeks to provide that calm to her charges, peace and tranquility are not always easy to come by at Thula Thula. In this installment, Malby-Anthony discusses many of the challenges faced by her and her staff, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. These included an aggressive, 2-ton rhino named Thabo; the profound loss felt by all upon the death of their elephant matriarch, Frankie; difficulty obtaining permits and the related risk of having to relocate or cull some of their animals; the fear of looting and fire due to civil unrest in the region; and the ongoing and potentially deadly struggles with poachers. Throughout, the author also shares many warm, lighthearted moments, demonstrating the deep bond felt among the humans and animals at the reserve and the powerful effects of the kindness of strangers. “We are all working in unity for the greater good, for the betterment of Thula Thula and all our wildlife….We are humbled by the generosity and love, both from our guests and friends, and from strangers all around the world,” writes the author. “People’s open-hearted support kept us alive in the darkest times.”
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781250284259
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.
A warts-and-all portrait of the famed techno-entrepreneur—and the warts are nearly beyond counting.
To call Elon Musk (b. 1971) “mercurial” is to undervalue the term; to call him a genius is incorrect. Instead, Musk has a gift for leveraging the genius of others in order to make things work. When they don’t, writes eminent biographer Isaacson, it’s because the notoriously headstrong Musk is so sure of himself that he charges ahead against the advice of others: “He does not like to share power.” In this sharp-edged biography, the author likens Musk to an earlier biographical subject, Steve Jobs. Given Musk’s recent political turn, born of the me-first libertarianism of the very rich, however, Henry Ford also comes to mind. What emerges clearly is that Musk, who may or may not have Asperger’s syndrome (“Empathy did not come naturally”), has nurtured several obsessions for years, apart from a passion for the letter X as both a brand and personal name. He firmly believes that “all requirements should be treated as recommendations”; that it is his destiny to make humankind a multi-planetary civilization through innovations in space travel; that government is generally an impediment and that “the thought police are gaining power”; and that “a maniacal sense of urgency” should guide his businesses. That need for speed has led to undeniable successes in beating schedules and competitors, but it has also wrought disaster: One of the most telling anecdotes in the book concerns Musk’s “demon mode” order to relocate thousands of Twitter servers from Sacramento to Portland at breakneck speed, which trashed big parts of the system for months. To judge by Isaacson’s account, that may have been by design, for Musk’s idea of creative destruction seems to mean mostly chaos.
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9781982181284
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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