Insectopedia by Hugh Raffles

In ten words or less: What are human's reactions to insects? Revulsion, science, phobias, aesthetics.

Review: Insects have existed alongside of humans for as long as humans have been alive. Insects travel with humans; they eat. live, and sleep with us. In a series of essays, Raffles examines "how insects have triggered our obsessions, stirred our passions, and beguiled our imaginations."
Raffles talks with a woman who has studied insect mutations after Chernobyl--it's amazing to discover that no one in the science community was disturbed by her findings. Another chapter asks " how can locusts bring both feast and famine in Africa?"
In one essay, he examines Heinrich Himmler's statement, "Antisemitism is exactly the same as delousing." Prisoners at Auschwitz were killed in "delousing facilities," with an insecticide developed for delousing buildings and clothes. It is a deeply disturbing historical picture of Nazi Germany.
Why bother? Raffles presents some difficult problems for us to think about, yet does it without beating the reader over the head with statistics and dire predictions. A fascinating look at the interrelationship between insects and humans, "Insectopedia" is a book you will want to read and read again.