{"product_id":"empire-of-ants-the-hidden-worlds-and-extraordinary-lives-of-earths-tiny-conquerors-9781615197125","title":"Empire of Ants: The Hidden Worlds and Extraordinary Lives of Earth's Tiny Conquerors","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eShortlisted for the 2022 Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis sweeping portrait of the world's uncontested six-legged conquerors will open your eyes to the secret societies thriving right beneath your feet--and shift your perspective on humanity.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Ants number in the ten quadrillions, and they have been here since the Jurassic era. Inside an anthill, you'll find high drama worthy of a royal court; and between colonies, high-stakes geopolitical intrigue is afoot. Just like us, ants grow crops, raise livestock, tend their young and infirm, and make vaccines. And, just like us, ants have a dark side: They wage war, despoil environments, and enslave rivals--but also rebel against their oppressors. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Engineered by nature to fulfill their particular roles, ants flawlessly perform a complex symphony of tasks to sustain their colony--seemingly without a conductor--from fearsome army ants, who stage twelve-hour hunting raids where they devour thousands, to gentle leafcutters cooperatively gardening in their peaceful underground kingdoms. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Acclaimed biologist Susanne Foitzik has traveled 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. (How \u003ci\u003edo \u003c\/i\u003eyou observe the behavior of ants just millimeters long--or dissect a brain the width of a needle?) Richly illustrated and photographed in full color, \u003ci\u003eEmpire of Ants \u003c\/i\u003ewill inspire new respect for ants as a global superpower--and raise new questions about the very meaning of \"civilization.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSusanne Foitzik \u003c\/b\u003eis an evolutionary biologist, behavioral scientist, and international authority on ants. After completing her PhD in ant evolution and behavior and conducting postdoctoral work in the US, she became a professor at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. She now holds a chair at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, where she studies the behaviors of slaveholding ants and different work roles in insect colonies. Her findings have been published in more than 100 scientific papers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eOlaf Fritsche \u003c\/b\u003eis a science journalist and biophysicist with a PhD in biology. He was previously an editor at the German-language edition of \u003ci\u003eScientific American\u003c\/i\u003e, is the author and coauthor of many books, and has been published in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines. He lives in Germany.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Experiment","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50726794035474,"sku":"9781615197125","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_307495e1-74f3-40d1-b6c8-d4068dc4a668.jpg?v=1734883711","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/empire-of-ants-the-hidden-worlds-and-extraordinary-lives-of-earths-tiny-conquerors-9781615197125","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}