THE SEA WAYS OF THE ANT

The third and final pair of reprints of Crompton's 1950's nature classics (The Snake and The Spider, 1986; A Hive of Bees and The Hunting Wasp, 1987). Of the two, Ways of the Ant is more successful, a lively natural history of the pestiferous ant, including the insect's variations, habits, and habitats, and a wealth of historical references and personal accounts, all quaintly told. The Sea (initially published as The Living Sea) takes Crompton off dry and more familiar ground for a look at the aquatic world by an observer who, as Kirkus said in its 1957 review of the book, is a ""blunt and unsentimental inquirer, intent, admiring, and perceptive."" However: ""the less-than-addict or more-than-novice will find this of special rather than general interest.