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The Pulitzer Prize - winning authors of The Ants render the extraordinary lives of the social insects in this visually spectacular volume.

The Superorganism promises to be one of the most important scientific works published in this decade. Coming 18 years after the publication of The Ants , this new volume expands our knowledge of the social insects (among them ants, bees, wasps, and termites) and is based on remarkable research. These superorganisms -- a tightly knit colony of individuals, formed by altruistic cooperation, complex communication, and division of labor -- represent one of the basic stages of biological organization, midway between the organism and the entire species. The study of the superorganism has led to important advances in our understanding of how the transitions between such levels have occurred in evolution, and how life as a whole has progressed from simple to complex forms.

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Library Journal Review

Nearly two decades after his groundbreaking opus, The Ants, Wilson gets together with Pulitzer Prize winner Holldobler to explain what insect societies have to say about the evolution of complex life forms. With a four-city tour. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

The vast majority of insect species are solitary; only a relatively few orders of ants, bees and wasps are truly "eusocial," living in colonies with only one or a few reproductive females (ensuring all members are related) and workers who collaborate in complex behaviors choreographed by chemical signaling, situational cues and "dances." Following up their Pulitzer-winning tome The Ants, science professors Holldobler and Wilson propose that, at their most sophisticated, eusocial colonies function in ways analogous to the cells of a single large organism (e.g., a vertebrate), which they term the "Superorganism." Holldobler and Wilson's investigation has surprising implications for all types of social animals, including humans, as well as for "thinking machines" that use decision-making algorithms. While evolution by natural selection is easy to describe (environment acting on random genetic variations to change biological characteristics), the authors manage the very difficult task of mapping its progress, precisely defining both the sequence of genetic changes and the environmental pressures involved. Formidable but rewarding, this study covers mathematical analysis as well as field data, but in a straightforward manner that guides readers from one remarkable fact or concept to the next, inspiring wonder at the origin of our own societies. 110 color and 100 b&w illus. (Nov.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

CHOICE Review

Copernican astronomy displaced Earth from its cosmic centrality. Evolutionary theory has removed humans from their biological pedestal, and the view of creatures has been extended. These creatures are not all separate organisms--some live and perish in groups. Unlike human clubs and communities, insect conglomerations work in extraordinary unison, with a "one for all and all for one" spirit. In this book, appropriate for both general readers and specialists, leading experts Holldobler (Arizona State) and Wilson (Harvard) present the plethora of information that entomologists have gathered on insects that live as superorganisms, i.e., collective biological units. They share food, communicate, and sacrifice themselves and procreate in incredible ways. They live in our midst, and we treat them as insignificant or as a nuisance. But they are a marvel to study and a beauty to behold. Insects were on Earth for eons before humans emerged and will last much longer. Written with admirable clarity, scientific thoroughness, and deep knowledge and insight, this book should open the eye and illuminate the mind of every reader. See also Holldobler and Wilson's The Ants (CH, Oct'90, 28-0954) and Wilson's The Insect Societies (CH, May'72). Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels of academic, professional, and general readers. V. V. Raman emeritus, Rochester Institute of Technology

Booklist Review

Social insects such as ants have long fascinated renowned biologist Wilson. With colleague Hölldobler, he presents this integrated look at social insects, from the genetic to the colony levels of analysis. Incorporating the evolutionary record into the text, the authors alert readers to the relentlessness of environmental pressures on everything that an insect is or does. The authors particularly theorize the adaptive advantages of a species whose members exist as part of a social organization, which emerges in their discussions of preconditions necessary for a transition from an individual to a communal life-cycle. This transition is rare in nature; adding to the amazement is the complexity of insect colonies, to which the authors devote most of their generously illustrated work. Divining how social insects divide into castes of workers, soldiers, and queens; explaining how castes communicate; and placing these successful species within the larger web of life, Wilson and Hölldobler, albeit fond of technical nomenclature, bring an alienlike world to the notice of interested nonscientists, in a volume with long-term library value.--Taylor, Gilbert Copyright 2008 Booklist

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1929. He is currently Pellegrino University Research Professor & Honorary Curator in Entomology of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. He is on the Board of Directors of the Nature Conservancy, Conservation International & the American Museum of Natural History. He lives in Lexington, Massachusetts.

(Bowker Author Biography)