Michael S. Engel is a Research Affiliate at the American Museum of
Natural History in New York. He is also University Distinguished
Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Senior Curator of
Entomology at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Dr. Engel is
the coauthor of Evolution of the Insects, and author of numerous
entomological treatises. He has been to 40 countries, north of the
Arctic Circle and down to the equator in tropical rain forests, in
search of living insects and ancient fossils. He lives in Lawrence,
KS.
The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world's
preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions.
Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has pursued its mission--to
discover, interpret, and share information about human cultures,
the natural world, and the universe--through a broad program of
scientific research, education, and exhibition.
Each year, millions of visitors experience the Museum's 45
permanent exhibition halls, including the Rose Center for Earth and
Space and the Hayden Planetarium. The Museum's scientific
collections contain more than 34 million specimens and artifacts,
which are an invaluable resource for Museum scientists, for
students in the Museum's Richard Gilder Graduate School, and for
researchers around the world. Visit amnh.org for more information.
“Engel, a University of Kansas biology professor, delves into the
American Museum of Natural History’s rare book collection,
specifically its ‘thousands of marvelously illustrated books’ about
insects, to create a book as aesthetically pleasing as it is
informative. Insects, Engel explains, are indeed innumerable, with
perhaps as many as 30 million extant species. They can also be set
apart from the rest of the planet’s life in many respects, since
‘insects were among the earliest animals to transition to land, the
first to fly, the first to sing, the first to disguise themselves
with camouflage, the first to evolve societies, the first to
develop agriculture, and the first to use an abstract language.’
Engel covers insect diversity, evolution, ecology, and physiology,
among other topics, while including intriguing vignettes about
early entomologists, including Maria Sibylla Merian, Julius T.C.
Ratzeburg, and Jan Swammerdam. With so much ground to cover, Engel
doesn’t go into great detail about any one point, but there’s
enough substance to satisfy most readers. The images, however, are
the stars of this work, which will delight every entomophile who
turns its pages.” — Publishers Weekly
“Engel, a University of Kansas biology professor, delves into the
American Museum of Natural History’s rare book collection,
specifically its ‘thousands of marvelously illustrated books’ about
insects, to create a book as aesthetically pleasing as it is
informative. Insects, Engel explains, are indeed innumerable, with
perhaps as many as 30 million extant species. They can also be set
apart from the rest of the planet’s life in many respects, since
‘insects were among the earliest animals to transition to land, the
first to fly, the first to sing, the first to disguise themselves
with camouflage, the first to evolve societies, the first to
develop agriculture, and the first to use an abstract language.’
Engel covers insect diversity, evolution, ecology, and physiology,
among other topics, while including intriguing vignettes about
early entomologists, including Maria Sibylla Merian, Julius T.C.
Ratzeburg, and Jan Swammerdam. With so much ground to cover, Engel
doesn’t go into great detail about any one point, but there’s
enough substance to satisfy most readers. The images, however, are
the stars of this work, which will delight every entomophile who
turns its pages.” — Publishers Weekly
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