Insectopolis
A Natural History
Published on 13. May 2025
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-324-03571-8 (ISBN)
Description
This visually immersive work of graphic non-fiction dives into a world where ants, cicadas, bees and butterflies visit a library exhibition that displays their stories and humanity's connection to them throughout the ages. Kuper's thrilling visual feast layers history and science, colour and design, to tell the remarkable tales of dung beetles navigating by the stars, hawk-size prehistoric dragonflies hunting prey and mosquitoes changing the course of human history.
Kuper also illuminates pioneering naturalists, from well-known figures like E. O. Wilson and Rachel Carson to unheralded luminaries like Charles Henry Turner, the Black American scholar who documented arthropod intelligence and Maria Sybilla Merian, the seventeenth-century German regarded as the mother of entomology.
Galvanised by the sixth extinction and the ongoing insect crisis, Kuper takes readers on an unforgettable journey.
Kuper also illuminates pioneering naturalists, from well-known figures like E. O. Wilson and Rachel Carson to unheralded luminaries like Charles Henry Turner, the Black American scholar who documented arthropod intelligence and Maria Sybilla Merian, the seventeenth-century German regarded as the mother of entomology.
Galvanised by the sixth extinction and the ongoing insect crisis, Kuper takes readers on an unforgettable journey.
Reviews / Votes
"Peter Kuper's remarkable new book, Insectopolis: A Natural History, is a graphic novel/infographic/wild fantasy ride into the secret world of insects and how that world intersects with ours. In other words, it is a thing like we have never seen before, in kind and magnitude." -- The Nation "Peter Kuper's stunning Insectopolis takes readers on journey, traveling through time and space in the company of Earth's most underappreciated beings. Each page is lush with closely observed detail: the iridescence of a beetle's exoskeleton, the velvety wing of a moth, the shadow cast by a single ant. Visually dazzling and rich with information, it is a book that will change the way you see the world and the trillions of tiny creatures scuttling and buzzing all around us." -- Lauren Redniss, author of Oak Flat and Radioactive "It's generous of the insects to share their planet with us, and that's never been more powerfully (and charmingly) illustrated than by Peter Kuper. This book will reorient your understanding of humanity's place on earth." -- Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature "Insectopolis will forever change the way you look at bugs. Peter Kuper masterfully intertwines natural and social history to show how insects shaped the evolution of all life on Earth and, also, how they have helped change the course of civilization throughout millennia. With heart, wit, erudition, and a boundless sense of beauty, Kuper reveals the wonders of the often-neglected realm of arthropods while poignantly reminding us that we, humans, are but fleeting visitors in it." -- Hernan Diaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Trust "Stunningly beautiful and hugely informative, Insectopolis is a perfect example of the importance of merging the sciences and arts. What an achievement!" -- Andrea Wulf, author of Magnificent Rebels and The Invention of Nature "Peter Kuper's Insectopolis is a visually stunning tribute to the world of bugs, revealing their profound impact on both nature and human history. I may not love insects yet, but after reading this, I'm definitely in awe of them." -- Gene Luen Yang, author of American Born Chinese "In this visually rich infographic work, cartoonist Peter Kuper takes us on a journey through time in the company of insects." -- BBC Countryfile MagazineMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Dimensions
Height: 270 mm
Width: 230 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
1190 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-324-03571-8 (9781324035718)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2025
W. W. Norton & Company
€32.49
Available for download
Person
Peter Kuper wrote the Eisner Award-winning Ruins and critically acclaimed adaptations of Alice in Wonderland, Heart of Darkness, and Metamorphosis. He founded the political anthology World War 3 Illustrated, writes and draws Mad magazine's Spy vs. Spy, and taught Harvard University's first class dedicated to graphic novels and comics.