Fireflies, Honey, and Silk - Gilbert Waldbauer
This is a fascinating book on how humans have used insects throughout history and across cultures. It's very readable and engaging, though I did have to put it down a few times and switch to something else. I think that's more a side-effect of how I read than any comment on the book, though.
It's divided into chapters by use, with chapters on cloth, on honey, on eating bugs, on paper and ink, on jewelry, etc. One of the things I really like is he doesn't just talk about European cultures - he ranges all over the world. Very nice, especially for someone who is used to "history of [whatever]" meaning "European history of [whatever]".
It's divided into chapters by use, with chapters on cloth, on honey, on eating bugs, on paper and ink, on jewelry, etc. One of the things I really like is he doesn't just talk about European cultures - he ranges all over the world. Very nice, especially for someone who is used to "history of [whatever]" meaning "European history of [whatever]".