Interview with Susanne Foitzik, author of Empire of Ants: The Hidden World and Extraordinary Lives of Earth's Tiny Conquerors
Susanne Foitzik, author of Empire of Ants: The Hidden World and Extraordinary Lives of Earth's Tiny Conquerors recommends some interesting books! Before jumping into the interview, please check out Susanne's book:
Review from Book Depository:
Ants have been walking the Earth since the age of the dinosaurs. Today there are one million ants for every one of us.
The closer you get to ants, the more human they look: they build megacities, grow crops, raise livestock, tend their young and infirm, and even make vaccines. They also have a darker side: they wage war, enslave rivals and rebel against their oppressors. From fearsome army ants, who stage twelve-hour hunting raids where they devour thousands, to gentle leaf-cutters gardening in their peaceful underground kingdoms, every ant is engineered by nature to fulfil their particular role.
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Empire of Ants: The Hidden World and Extraordinary Lives of Earth's Tiny Conquerors
Acclaimed biologist Susanne Foitzik has travelled the globe to study these master architects of Earth. Joined by journalist Olaf Fritsche, Foitzik invites readers deep into her world - in the field and in the lab - and will inspire new respect for ants as a global superpower.
Fascinating and action-packed, Empire of Ants will open your eyes to the secret societies thriving right beneath your feet.
Buy On:
Easons €23.80
Book Depository €15.65
Waterstones £16.99
Wordery $19.05
Q. Do you have a favourite smart thinking book (and why that book)?
I really love Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. It really answered a question I had, that is why some societies progressed faster than others. I did not know about the importance of native animals and plants, that can be domesticated. Also, the role of infectious diseases for who dominated the world and when was not so clear to me before.
Review From Book Depository:
Why has human history unfolded so differently across the globe? And what can it teach us about our current crisis?
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Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years
Jared Diamond puts the case that geography and biogeography, not race, moulded the contrasting fates of Europeans, Asians, Native Americans, sub-Saharan Africans, and aboriginal Australians.
An ambitious synthesis of history, biology, ecology and linguistics, Guns, Germs and Steel is a ground-breaking and humane work of popular science that can provide expert insight into our modern world.
Buy On:
Easons €9.49
Book Depository €11.18
Waterstones £10.99
Wordery $13.47
Q. What's the most recent smart thinking book you've read (and how would you rate it)?
I recently read the book BLUE: in search of natures rarest colour by Kai Kupferschmidt. Maybe an odd subject but I really liked the weird combination of information he collected all around the world. Both entertaining and enlightening.
Review from Book Depository:
A globe-trotting quest to find blue in the natural world - and to understand our collective obsession with this bewitching colour.
Blue is a rare colour - natural blue, that is. From morpho butterflies in the rain forest to the blue jay flitting past your window, vanishingly few living things are blue - and most that appear so are doing sleight of hand with physics or complex chemistry. Flowers modify the red pigment anthocyanin to achieve their blue hue. Even the blue sky above us is a trick of the light.
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Blue: In Search of Nature's Rarest Color
Yet this hard-to-spot accent colour in our surroundings looms large in our affections. Science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt has been fascinated by blue since childhood. His quest to find and understand his favorite colour and its hallowed place in our culture takes him to a gene-splicing laboratory in Japan, a volcanic lake in Oregon, and to Brandenburg, Germany - home of the last Spix's macaws. From deep underground where blue minerals grow into crystals to miles away in space where satellites gaze down at our "blue marble" planet, wherever we do find blue, it always has a story to tell.
Buy On:
Book Depository €19.63
Waterstones £18.99
Q. Do you have a favourite childhood book?
I loved to read the Winnetou books by Karl May. They describe adventures in 19th centuries Wild West, where the Native Americans are portrait as the good and peaceful Indians. It fitted for my longing to travel and to see other countries, people and actually other times (I am a big fan of time travel books as well!)
Review From Waterstones:
Fresh off the boat from Europe and looking for adventure, a young German named Charlie heads west. He finds plenty of excitement on the untamed American frontier. Whether it is an encounter with a grizzly, a hostile Indian, or a dishonest white man, he always manages to emerge victorious. He gets out of one dangerous situation after another, thanks to his quick wits, his skill with a gun, and his remarkable strength (which earns him the nickname "Old Shatterhand"). Along the way, he makes friends with an equally remarkable young Indian, Winnetou. Together, they embark on adventures throughout the West. This classic adventure story of the American west, along with a host of other books and stories by Karl May, shaped the perception of the frontier for generations of readers. May's books became the all-time best-sellers in Germany and were translated into many languages, but good English translations have been difficult to find-until now.
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Winnetou
Buy On:
Book Depository €17.98
Waterstones £12.95
Wordery $30.06
Q. Do you prefer reading on paper, Kindle or listening to an audiobook?
I like all of them. For traveling, a Kindle is just easier and the possibility to download a new book immediately and where ever you are is great. However, for my eyes reading in a paper book is better and I like illustrations.
For travel and at night if I lay awake, I like to listen to audiobooks...
Q. Do you have a favourite bookshop (and why that shop)?
I like the small kids bookshop in our neighbouring village. They have a great selection of books for my kids, nephews and nieces, and also a good selection of adult books. During the lock-down, I was happy, that we could order books online, but I find it is more difficult to browse there.
Many thanks to Susanne for recommending some interesting books! Please don't forget to check out Susanne's book Empire of Ants: The Hidden World and Extraordinary Lives of Earth's Tiny Conquerors.
Daryl
Image Copyrights: Octopus Publishing Group (Empire of Ants), Vintage Publishing (Guns, Germs & Steel), The Experiment LLC (Blue), Changing Outlook LLC (Winnetou).
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