Strange Lives of Familiar Insects

by Edwin Way Teale

Colorful informative guide to the ineresting lives of insects.

Genres: Nature, Science, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Edwin Way Teale was an American naturalist, photographer, and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. Teale's works serve as primary source material documenting environmental conditions across North America from 1930 - 1980. He is perhaps best known for his series The American Seasons, four books documenting over 75,000 miles (121,000 km) of automobile travel across North America following the changing seasons.

Reviews

[Nathan Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because Annie Dillard called it “a book that I cannot live without.” I get it. This man loves insects and now I do too.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did. A friend of mine managed to characterize it at a quick glance: like those Discovery Channel documentaries he had grown up on. Which is to say, a fun read with plenty of little facts and observations thrown in. But it is also somewhat unsatisfying if you have already had much exposure to the subject matter, e.g., by reading E.O. Wilson. I would still recommend it to anyone who is interested in the natural world and insects in particular, but for myself, I'd go back to Wilson or more serious writers afterwards.

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Ethan. I wish this book covered more. Some very interesting things which I did not know. I'll have to look more carefully at the insects in the springs and summers ahead.