…mesmerizing…Margonelli turns cutting-edge science into rich narrative by plunging deep into the termite's world—a move that requires a certain cognitive shift…Margonelli, like the researchers she encounters, attempts to free herself from the shackles of human perception and enter the social insect psyche…This isn't just a brilliant book about bugs. For almost a decade, Margonelli scrutinized the scientists and their work with the same forensic gaze they themselves applied to the insects. The result is a rare longitudinal insight into the slippery nature of scientific progress…Margonelli's masterly book is a timely, thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be human, as much as what it means to be termite, and a penetrating look at the moral challenges of our ongoing technological revolution.

05/21/2018
Termites, a group of insects closely related to cockroaches and responsible for up to $20 billion in property damage in the United States each year, make for an unlikely but fascinating protagonist in the capable and creative hands of science journalist Margonelli (Oil on the Brain). She uses the termite taxonomy as a way to address questions with “evolutionary, ecological and existential implications.” Her far-ranging work touches on the nature of individuality, the use of drones by the military, the applicability of concepts of good and evil to science, and the creation of biofuels created using the termite gut, among other topics. Margonelli brings all of this to light by making complex, cutting-edge science understandable to the general reader, while also conveying the excitement, frustration, and plain drudgery inherent in the scientific endeavor. She provides firsthand descriptions of field and laboratory work throughout the world, from Cambridge, Mass., to Windhoek, Namibia, coupled with interviews of scientists involved in exploring the intricacies and implications of termite behavior. The range of disciplines represented by these researchers (entomology, physiology, genomics, physics, robotics) by itself ably demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of current research on termites. Margonelli has written a book as entertaining as it is informative. (Aug.)

"A timely, thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be human, as much as what it means to be termite, and a penetrating look at the moral challenges of our ongoing technological revolution."
—Lucy Cooke, the New York Times

“Termites are not just the destructive force that homeowners know and hate—‘architects of negative space,’ as environmental writer Lisa Margonelli wittily puts it. They also comprise a kind of entomological three-ring circus, and this round-up of research on the eusocial insects is a ticket to the show . . . This is a wild ride through a hidden microcosmos stretching from Australia to Namibia.” —Barbara Kiser, Nature

“Margonelli uses her ‘obsessive’ termite tale to open wider discussions about everything from the evolution of superorganisms to the morality of military drones. Her work represents science writing at its most enjoyable and informative best.” —Carl Hays, Booklist

"Unlikely but fascinating...[this] far-ranging work touches on the nature of individuality, the use of drones by the military, the applicability of concepts of good and evil to science, and the creation of biofuels created using the termite gut, among other topics. Margonelli brings all of this to light by making complex, cutting-edge science understandable to the general reader, while also conveying the excitement, frustration, and plain drudgery inherent in the scientific endeavor. ...Margonelli has written a book as entertaining as it is informative." —Publishers Weekly

"This book is about termites the way the Bible is about men with beards. Yes, it takes you into the mounds and inside the bugs, but also deep into the strange labs and pulsing, eclectic minds of the roboticists, geneticists, physicists, and ecologists who try to figure them out. Perhaps best of all, it takes you deep into the brain of Lisa Margonelli, one of the finest writers and most original thinkers we have. A surprising, swirling, fantastically unpredictable, thought-provoking, funny, and (depending on your species) delicious book." —Mary Roach, author of Stiff

"In a unique voice that's wry, inventive, and acrobatic, Margonelli takes us on a termite-guided exploration of subterranean tracts of nature, science, and robotics. The book is brimming with flair. Prepare to find yourself absorbed." —Peter Godfrey-Smith, author of Other Minds

2018-05-07
Science writer Margonelli (Oil on the Brain: Adventures from the Pump to the Pipeline, 2007) explores the mysterious realms of an insect that has always gotten a bad rap.The author's obsession with understanding termites began as idle curiosity and morphed into magazine articles and then this book. At times, Margonelli's musings about termites become deeply philosophical. Early in the book, she writes, "where I had thought of landscapes as the product of growth, on that afternoon they inverted to become the opposite….Termites have made the world by unmaking parts of it. They are the architects of negative space. The engineers of not." Becoming fascinated with not just the insects themselves, but the researchers who study them, the author traveled with them to Namibia, Australia, Nevada, and Arizona to observe and collect termites in their environments. Her interest in oil as a crucial fossil fuel led her to wonder, along with research scientists, whether the wood that termites consumed (along with grass) could be converted to gasoline. Throughout the book, Margonelli asserts herself, as she helps the scientists collect termites for laboratory study and enters the usually sealed-off labs to view the dissections firsthand. Occasionally, the author focuses the narrative on the destructiveness of termites when they come into contact with man-made structures. Elsewhere, she demonstrates pure interest in termite behaviors without consequences attached. She wonders why colonizing insects such as bees and ants are portrayed as mostly noble while termites are inevitably considered pests by most people. Climate change might alter the already negative perception of termites by forcing two different invasive types to intermingle, thus ratcheting up the destruction. Humans have been hoping to re-engineer the inherent traits of termites, but climate change is allowing termites to re-engineer themselves. Margonelli does not always clearly convey the technical nature of termite research for general readers, but she succeeds in piquing interest in an unlikely subject.