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At present, there are 11,006 species of ant known. They are found throughout the world except at the polar icecaps, and it is estimated that their combined population makes up half the mass of all insects alive today. Ants have figured in fantasy as miniature armies, as models of good behavior, as infiltrating communists, and as creatures on the borderline between the realms of the organic and the machine. Ant experts have been hired to help solve problems with information networks. Ant considers the variety of human responses to ants and their intricate, miniature societies and elucidates the cultural reasons behind our varied reactions to these extraordinary insects.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
5 people are currently reading
208 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Sleigh
18 books10 followersDr. Charlotte Sleigh is Lecturer in the School of History at the University of Kent at Canterbury. (2003)
Charlotte Sleigh studied at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge. She had a one-year visiting assistant professorship at the University of California, Los Angeles, before taking up her post at Kent in 2000, where she is now senior lecturer in history of science.
Charlotte has been known as ‘the ant woman’ for some time now on account of her research into the history of myrmecology, the science of ants. She has researched how social and cultural perspectives have shaped the ways in which scientists have looked at ants, resulting in two books (Ant, Reaktion, 2003, and Six Legs Better, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007) and a number of articles.
Keen to shake off her insectan title, and to be known for other areas of expertise, Charlotte is currently working on a book about science and literature to be published by Palgrave. Besides this, her research interests encompass the life sciences over the past 150 years. She has given public lectures and appeared on a number of radio and TV programmes, speaking with varying degrees of authoritativeness on a number of history of science-related topics.
Charlotte’s teaching at Kent includes science and literature, Victorian science and society, the history of animals, and the history of the body in the twentieth century. She is co-director of the MSc in Science, Communication and Society, run jointly with Biosciences. This unique degree combines practical training in science communication with insights from the humanities on the history, sociology and ethics of science.
Charlotte Sleigh studied at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge. She had a one-year visiting assistant professorship at the University of California, Los Angeles, before taking up her post at Kent in 2000, where she is now senior lecturer in history of science.
Charlotte has been known as ‘the ant woman’ for some time now on account of her research into the history of myrmecology, the science of ants. She has researched how social and cultural perspectives have shaped the ways in which scientists have looked at ants, resulting in two books (Ant, Reaktion, 2003, and Six Legs Better, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007) and a number of articles.
Keen to shake off her insectan title, and to be known for other areas of expertise, Charlotte is currently working on a book about science and literature to be published by Palgrave. Besides this, her research interests encompass the life sciences over the past 150 years. She has given public lectures and appeared on a number of radio and TV programmes, speaking with varying degrees of authoritativeness on a number of history of science-related topics.
Charlotte’s teaching at Kent includes science and literature, Victorian science and society, the history of animals, and the history of the body in the twentieth century. She is co-director of the MSc in Science, Communication and Society, run jointly with Biosciences. This unique degree combines practical training in science communication with insights from the humanities on the history, sociology and ethics of science.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 25, 2015
I have mild interest in insects, their world intrigues me and Ants in particular are more mysterious and I like to read more about them..
However, this is not exactly a scientific book. It is an overview of Ants world in history, culture, literature and psychology. So, I was kind of disappointed it wasn't science-oriented. But it's still a good read for a person who's looking for an understanding of Ants in said fields of humanity.
This book has 6 chapters: Ants as minions, Ants as Models, The Enemy Without, The Enemy Within, Ants as Machines and The Ambiguous Ant.. All those discuss various notions and sometimes misunderstanding and exaggerations about Ants. Even Ant representation in movies, especially horror, and children's as well like A Bug's Life.
It was all in all an interesting read despite it not being what I was looking for.
However, this is not exactly a scientific book. It is an overview of Ants world in history, culture, literature and psychology. So, I was kind of disappointed it wasn't science-oriented. But it's still a good read for a person who's looking for an understanding of Ants in said fields of humanity.
This book has 6 chapters: Ants as minions, Ants as Models, The Enemy Without, The Enemy Within, Ants as Machines and The Ambiguous Ant.. All those discuss various notions and sometimes misunderstanding and exaggerations about Ants. Even Ant representation in movies, especially horror, and children's as well like A Bug's Life.
It was all in all an interesting read despite it not being what I was looking for.
April 23, 2012
الكتاب جميل، لكنه يختلف عن بقية كتب السلسلة التي قرأتها لغاية الان
فالكتاب يكتفي بعرض لمحة سريعة عنالتاريخ الطبيعي للنمل في الفصل الأول دون التركيز عليه، كما أنه لا يتناول تاريخ النمل وموقعه في وجدان وثقافات وفنون الشعوب، أو الحفريات الأثرية المتعلقة به، وإنما يركز على الجانب الفلسفي والإجتماعي لمجتمع النمل، وكيف انعكس هذا الجانب على الإنسان في مختلف المجالات: الفسلفية والإجتماعية والأدبية (المعاصرة) والسينمائية والعلمية والتكنولوجية
الكتاب أقرب إلى عمل نقدي للروايات والأفلام والأبحاث العلمية التي تناولت النمل منه إلى عمل يتناول تاريخ النمل
فالكتاب يكتفي بعرض لمحة سريعة عنالتاريخ الطبيعي للنمل في الفصل الأول دون التركيز عليه، كما أنه لا يتناول تاريخ النمل وموقعه في وجدان وثقافات وفنون الشعوب، أو الحفريات الأثرية المتعلقة به، وإنما يركز على الجانب الفلسفي والإجتماعي لمجتمع النمل، وكيف انعكس هذا الجانب على الإنسان في مختلف المجالات: الفسلفية والإجتماعية والأدبية (المعاصرة) والسينمائية والعلمية والتكنولوجية
الكتاب أقرب إلى عمل نقدي للروايات والأفلام والأبحاث العلمية التي تناولت النمل منه إلى عمل يتناول تاريخ النمل
June 9, 2019
الكتاب مشوق ولكن سأرجع للنسخة الانجليزية حتما بسبب عدم فهمي لبعض الجمل مثل: ان القدرة على استخدام المنظورين حسب الرغبة يسمح للسرد الروائي الانتقال بين المأوى الامن داخل العالم المصغر والتفوق عليه، القطبان التوأمان للعبة التصغير. صفحة ٤٥
الكتاب يحتوي على اساطير وقصص وعبر حول النمل ويستحق القراءة مرة ثانية
الكتاب يحتوي على اساطير وقصص وعبر حول النمل ويستحق القراءة مرة ثانية
August 12, 2016
كتاب يبحث تأثير النمل في ثقافة البشر وكيف صوروه في قصصهم وأفلامهم وأمثالهم
December 2, 2023
Perhaps I'm being mean giving it 2 stars because "Ant" is well written and, like the other Reaktion Animal books, beautiflly presented. These books are just so nice to look at. But while I wanted to learn about the biology of ants, what I got was a single chapter on the biology of ants followed by several chapters on ants as a metaphor for colonialism, ants as a metaphor for communism, ants as a metaphor for immigration, blah blah blah. It was just too human-centric for me.
August 19, 2020
This is a really interesting mixture of biology, history and popular culture. Myrmecology is placed alongside human working habits, fears and even politics. Ants are used to examine tensions in Europe and immigration in America, as well as the potential developments in IT and AI. It would be fascinating to know what Professor Sleigh made of Marvel's Ant Man...
February 28, 2010
This is another case of me not reading the cover blurb properly and buying a book that was not what I expected. I thought I was buying a book about ants, but what this actually is is a book about human attitudes towards ants throughout history.
So, on its own terms, this is a very interesting and thought-provoking book. It examines how our attitudes towards ants have changed over time, from being exemplars of hard work, duty, faithfulness and self-sacrifice for the greater good of the community, to metaphors of our fear of foreign invasion and illegal immigration, to models for artificial intelligence and information theory (whatever that is!).
Profusely illustrated and easy to read, this was not what I expected but enjoyable nonetheless. And the bibliography and suggested further reading has given me some ideas for the books I might get to satisfy my curiosity about ants themselves.
So, on its own terms, this is a very interesting and thought-provoking book. It examines how our attitudes towards ants have changed over time, from being exemplars of hard work, duty, faithfulness and self-sacrifice for the greater good of the community, to metaphors of our fear of foreign invasion and illegal immigration, to models for artificial intelligence and information theory (whatever that is!).
Profusely illustrated and easy to read, this was not what I expected but enjoyable nonetheless. And the bibliography and suggested further reading has given me some ideas for the books I might get to satisfy my curiosity about ants themselves.
June 5, 2007
When I find myself in the company of ants, I am ashamed to admit that I often meet their waggling antennae with screams and squishing. Yet I still am fascinated by the little buggers.
Reaktion Books' Ant unveils the insect as creature, home invader, cultural entity, religious role model and steadfast example of work ethic. It's a fun read (complete with great historical ant images) despite the moments of creepy crawlies.
Reaktion Books' Ant unveils the insect as creature, home invader, cultural entity, religious role model and steadfast example of work ethic. It's a fun read (complete with great historical ant images) despite the moments of creepy crawlies.
January 18, 2022
Wonderful writing! Particularly enjoyed the overview of the Deborah Gordon - E. O. Wilson points-of-view!
September 30, 2014
يقول أحد الفلاسفة الفرنسيين أننا لا نشعر نحو النمل بالمقت الذي يتملكنا غالبا اتجاه الحشرات الأخرى.
يقول الكاتب " بغض النظر هل يسير الله هذه الدمى المتحركة أم لا ، لن يتمكن صانع بشري مهما بلغة درجة حذقه ومهارته من تقليدها"
يظهر النمل المحفوظ في الكهرمان قبل مدة تتراوح بين ٢٥-٤٠ مليون سنة دون تغيير كبير في شكله مما يطرح تساؤلات حول عملية التطور التي لم تظهر جليا طوال هذه السنين على صغر حجم هذا الكائن وكثرته العددية.
يطرح المؤلف أفكارا تسبح ضد النسيج الذي رسمناه حول مملكة النمل ، فهناك منهم من يمارس تحسين النسل عن طريق إلقاء النمل الذي انتهت صلاحيته خارج المملكة حتى يلقى مصيره ، وكان يخشى من أن النمل الأحمر سيدفع البشر خارج الهند ، وكان الأفارقة إذا أرادوا الإنتقام من شخص دفنوه وتركوا رأسه ظاهرا ثم سلطوا عليه نمل "سيافو" حتى يلدغه في الأماكن الحساسة مثل العينين والأنف ويقرض رأسه حتى يموت ، ونمل فرعون الذي يجتاح المباني والمستشفيات ويدب فوق المرضى العاجزين عن الحركة ويلتهم لحمهم المتضرر وينشر الأمراض ، والنمل الأصفر الذي كان انتشر مثل السرطان في جامعة هارفارد.
يسخر الأوربيون من اليابانيين ويشبهونهم بالنمل ، يعملون كثيرا ، يعيشون في شقق مصغرة ، يقضون ساعتين في الذهاب والإياب من العمل ، ينجبون أطفالا يعملون كالبهائم !
أسهب المؤلف في الحديث عن الأفلام والمسلسلات التي تحدثت عن حياة النمل بدرجة مبالغ بها ، الكتاب كان في أوله مشوقا ثم صار مملا ومكررا في النهاية.
June 19, 2013
لما قررت اقراه كنت اعتقد انه هيتكلم عن النمل حياته وطباعه الخ
مع القرايه اكتشفت انه كتاب بيتكلم على النمل فى اﻻساطير والقصص وازاى مجتمع النمل اثر عاﻵنسان لدرجه جعلته يستعين به في كتير من اساطيرة كنوع من الشعور باهمية النمل ....
مع القرايه اكتشفت انه كتاب بيتكلم على النمل فى اﻻساطير والقصص وازاى مجتمع النمل اثر عاﻵنسان لدرجه جعلته يستعين به في كتير من اساطيرة كنوع من الشعور باهمية النمل ....
June 24, 2012
احب النمل واحب مراقبته
واستمتعت بقرائه هذا الكتاب كثير
بالرغم من وجود بعض الاجزاء الممله قليلا
وعدم اشباعه لنهمي المعرفي اتجاه النمل
.
واستمتعت بقرائه هذا الكتاب كثير
بالرغم من وجود بعض الاجزاء الممله قليلا
وعدم اشباعه لنهمي المعرفي اتجاه النمل
.
January 22, 2015
~~~✪✪✪~~~
ما يعيب على الكتاب هو كثرة الدخول في التفاصيل الغير الهامة.. ولكن على العموم الكتب ملئ بالمعلومات والصور التوضيحة، وكذلك الهوامش مذكورة في نهاية الكتاب لتفادي تشويش القارئ..
~~~✪✪✪~~~
ما يعيب على الكتاب هو كثرة الدخول في التفاصيل الغير الهامة.. ولكن على العموم الكتب ملئ بالمعلومات والصور التوضيحة، وكذلك الهوامش مذكورة في نهاية الكتاب لتفادي تشويش القارئ..
~~~✪✪✪~~~
June 27, 2016
ممتع, لكن الترجمة ثقيلة طينة.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews