Nature Underfoot

Living with Beetles, Crabgrass, Fruit Flies, and Other Tiny Life Around Us

De: John Hainze

Narrado por: Charles Constant

An informed and heartfelt tribute to commonly unappreciated plants, insects, and other tiny creatures that reconsiders humanity's relationship to nature.

Fruit flies, silverfish, dandelions, and crabgrass are the bane of many people and the target of numerous chemical and physical eradication efforts. In this compelling reassessment of the relationship between humans and the natural world, John Hainze - an entomologist and former pesticide developer - considers the fascinating and bizarre history of how these so-called invasive or unwanted pests and weeds have co-evolved with humanity and highlights the benefits of a greater respect and moral consideration toward these organisms.

With deep insight into the lives of the underappreciated and often reviled creatures that surround us, Hainze's accessible and engaging natural history draws on ethics, religion, and philosophy as he passionately argues that creepy crawlies and unwanted plants deserve both empathy and accommodation as partners dwelling with us on earth.

©2020 John Hainze (P)2020 Tantor

Hands down, the best book I've read in years!

Who knew? And before this book I would have added who cares? But, after reading John Hainze’s book Nature Underfoot, I now know more and care more than I would have imagined.

I have never written a book review before, but after listening to Nature Underfoot, I knew that I wanted to share my thoughts with other readers.

Let me start off by saying that I didn’t choose this book…it sort of chose me, by way of my book club.

It certainly didn’t seem like a book I would enjoy. I thought it would be boringly educational. I also thought that it would be preaching that I should joyfully encourage every critter around to share my home with me and every weed in my yard to thrive and reproduce until I had no lawn left.

What I found instead is a delightful, engaging, informative book that had me shaking my head with awe at nature and also laughing out loud.

The facts I’ve learned are far from boring, and while I may never remember all the scientific names I will certainly remember that a dandelion can have a 15 foot tap root, that there is actually a bee called the Cuckoo bee who sneaks into bumble bee hives and lives off the spoils of other bees, that age related decline in fruit flies and humans is similar.

At this point I should mention that I haven’t finished the book. I find myself stopping to reflect on some interesting fact or some humorous text. I want to savor this book. I want what I’m reading to really be fixed in my mind. And, I also find myself dragging along in my reading because I am enjoying the book so much that I don’t want it to end.