To Know a Fly [Paperback]

Vincent Gaston Dethier (Author), N. Tinbergen (Foreword)

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Holden Day (June 1963)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070165742
• ISBN-13: 978-0070165748
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To Know a Fly, December 28, 2001

By 

Edward (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Know a Fly (Paperback)

An absolute classic little book that uses humor and cartoons to illustrate the joys of science and the scientific method. Perfect for students from junior high through university. I only wish it was still in print so I could assign it for the students in my animal behavior lab course.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Introduction to the Thrills of Science, June 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: To Know a Fly (Paperback)

I read this book when I was in college, many years ago, unfortunately-- after-- I had struggled through the science curriculum.

At the time, I thought how wonderful this book would be for a fifth or sixth grader whose opinion of the study of science has not yet been formed.

In this book, the author takes the reader on a journey through the curiosity of the human spirit, to wonder-- the human desire to discover how things work-- to know the value of asking questions--, along with the tedium, the failures, the successes and the rewards of finding answers to those questions. Such is the nature of scientific research.

That it was written with humor, on the study of flies, it was plain to see that the study or pursuit of science, is in fact FUN!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ToKnow A Fly, July 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: To Know a Fly (Paperback)

I assigned this little gem of a book to my psychology students when I was teaching at Antioch College in the late 1960's. I am now asking the teachers who are offering a Science and Math Summer Camp for Alaska Native middle school students to read it, to re-ignite their sense of the fun and excitement of scientific inquiry. Truly a timeless book, it is similar to "The Little Prince" in its capacity to stay in one's thoughts for decades.