An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles is an authoritative reference in a breathtakingly beautiful volume, one that will leave every reader with a deeper understanding, appreciation, and--yes--fondness for these amazing creatures and their place in nature. In terms of numbers, beetles are the most successful creatures on earth: about 350,000 species of beetles have been described since 1758. They range from tiny to gigantic, occupy sundry habitats, and eat everything--plants, animals, and their own remains. An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles provides an engaging look at these magnificent yet poorly understood creatures and highlights the absolutely essential role they play in the dynamics of nearly every terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. And, as this book beautifully demonstrates, the aesthetics of beetle design are amazing. The fantastic colors and shapes of these creatures warrant the gorgeous color photography lavished on them in this book.
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Amazon.com Review
There is a story, possibly apocryphal, that an English cleric asked the noted evolutionist J.B.S. Haldane what could be inferred about the Creator from the works of nature. Haldane is reported to have replied, "An inordinate fondness for beetles."
! In fact, approximately one-fifth of all known species are beetles--350,000 and growing (and yours truly even discovered a beetle species in 1986)--yet most people know very little about this remarkable group of organisms. This is one of the best coffee-table books I have ever seen about the creepy critters, and the full-color photos of iridescent, brightly colored, or architecturally elaborate beetle gems is sure to instill an inordinate fondness for beetles among children, artists, and anyone with a love of nature. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
YA. A beautiful and thorough look at the entire realm of beetles including the locales in which they are found, history, anatomy and physiology, and their relationships with humans. The incredible full-color photographs bring readers up close without a magnifying lens at hand, and the seemingly infinite variations within the species due to size, structure, and color are easily seen. Diagrams clarify concepts that could not be photographed. If the outstanding, large, colorful photos do not grab browsers' attention, the opening statement will: "Beetles...representing a fifth of all living organisms...." While the text is scientific, it is very readable. The appendixes supply information not found in other books. While this title will not serve as a guide for identification, it is an excellent resource for naturalists.?Gary Fillmore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gorgeous and well-written--recommended,
By
This review is from: An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles (Paperback)
The photographs by Lisa Watson are the first thing to catch your eye about this beautifully produced book. The majority are of museum specimens, which oddly is what makes the pictures so attractive: we're used to seeing high quality pictures of wildlife, but the displays here juxtapose many different beetles and have more impact than wildlife shots would.The pictures are beautiful but the text is high-quality too. The authors start by reciting some statistics on the number of beetle species. Linnaeus, two hundred and fifty years ago, described 654 species; and Fabricius added another 4,112 species between 1775 and 1801. By 1876 Gemminger and von Harold's catalog contained nearly 77,000 species; and when Junk and Schenkling's catalogue was completed, in 1940, it listed nearly 221,500 species. It's now estimated that there are 350,000 described beetle species. However, recent work by Terry Erwin, extrapolating from detailed studies of a small area, suggests that there are more than eight *million* species of beetle just in the tropics! The rest of the book is a fairly detailed survey of beetles in all their aspects. The authors are enthusiasts as well as experts, and it shows in their writing, which is crisp, clear and engaging. They cover beetle anatomy, fossilized beetles, habitats and niches, the beetle life cycle, and mimicry. There is also substantial coverage of beetles and humans: naming, appearance in mythology, use as jewels (really!), a discussion of pest control, and use in education. The book has more scientific depth than is usual for a coffee table book, without sacrificing interest value. There is a website that appears to be maintained by one of the authors (Evans) that contains some material from the book; I recommend you take a look if you are hesitating about buying this. I found it by searching for the book title using a standard search engine; when I looked it was on the Lorquin Entomological Society's website, but it may have moved. Recommended.
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
By far one of the best books I have read about insects,
By A Customer
This review is from: An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles (Henry Holt Reference Book) (Hardcover)
I have read large numbers of insect books, and this is my absolute favorite. Cover to cover, it is an interesting and informative book. The photography is simply stunning and amazing, and the text is easy to read and well planned to cater to the well informed entomologist and amateur alike. It describes all aspects of beetle lives, with special emphasis on how many beetles there are in the world and how they effect human cultures in ways we rarely notice. Anyone who has any interest in beetles, insects in general, or excellent photography should get ahold of a copy of this book. I assure you that you won't regret it!
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating natural history and wonderful photographs.,
By A Customer
This review is from: An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles (Henry Holt Reference Book) (Hardcover)
If a single example of every living species, plant and animal, were lined up, every fifth organism would be a beetle! This amazingly beautiful book combines fascinating natural history about the most common form of life on earth with spectacular photographs. Brings the appreciation of beetles closer to the way many of us already feel about birds, butterflies and wildflowers. Look closely--beauty lies beneath our feet. This is a coffee table art book simply in a class by itself. It is rich in content as well as beauty
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