Reviews of “Empire of the Beetle”
 Empire of the Beetle"...the book is more than just an enjoyable romp through matters coleopterological; it makes many important points of considerable importance." Literary Review of Canada, Dec 31, 2011 Read more about Empire of the Beetle >> |
Empire of the Beetle"...packed with statistics, vivid descriptions of bark beetle life cycles, and portraits of scientists and forest managers struggling to cope with beetle colonies..." LA Times, Dec 4, 2011 Read more about Empire of the Beetle >> |
Empire of the Beetle"The Canadian experience, as chronicled by Andrew Nikiforuk, makes a strong case that the best defense against massive insect outbreaks and large forest fires is to have a diverse landscape with a heterogeneous variety of stand ages and tree composition." Homer Tribune, Nov 9, 2011 Read more about Empire of the Beetle >> |
Empire of the Beetle"Empire of the Beetle: How Human Folly and a Tiny Bug Are Killing North America's Great Forests...is an eye-opener, not just about how much damage bark beetles are doing but on how much humans have laid the table for the bugs' banquet. The whole episode ought to instruct us on how to do things better, and there are lessons which Nikiforuk includes, if those who are in position to manage decisions about the forests are listening." The Commercial Dispatch, Oct 26, 2011 Read more >>Read more about Empire of the Beetle >> |
Empire of the Beetle"Nikiforuk draws on interviews with scientists, foresters and rural residents to paint a nuanced picture of beetle outbreaks and their long-term implications... Although climate change has rung the dinner bell for hungry beetles, the author suggests, human arrogance has surely set the table." Science News, Oct 7, 2011 Read more >>Read more about Empire of the Beetle >> |
Empire of the Beetle"Drawing on first hand accounts from entomologists, botanists, foresters and rural residents in Canada and the U.S., Nikiforuk [digs] into the history of bark beetles." Burns Lake Lakes District News, Oct 5, 2011 Read more >>Read more about Empire of the Beetle >> |
Empire of the Beetle"Nikiforuk tallies the human and ecological costs of bark beetles' destruction of wide swathes of trees, costs that are exacerbated by climate change. His plainspoken writing style is especially poignant as he gives voice to the devastating human experience of lost forests. Recommended." Library Journal, Oct 1, 2011 Read more about Empire of the Beetle >> |
Empire of the Beetle"Andrew Nikiforuk's Empire of the Beetle is not just a primer on the life cycle, usefulness and recent rampages of the tribe of bark beetles that have killed more than 30 billion pine and spruce trees in Canada and the American West...It is not simply another tome that blames all hell on climate change...It is at its best a principled reflection on what ecologist Crawford Holling has called "the pathology of resource management." The never-before-seen complete virulence of the bark beetles in the conifer forests -- with a few aspen forests thrown in for good measure -- is not just the result of some wrong turn in forest policy. It is a result of the mistaken notion that any forest policy is better than learning from nature and following nature's ways." Globe and Mail, Sep 30, 2011 Read more >>Read more about Empire of the Beetle >> |
Empire of the Beetle"The ultimate message in Empire of the Beetle is that of human folly. Nikiforuk shows that many of the scientists who were originally contracted to study the bark beetle with the aim of controlling it eventually came around to seeing the beetle as a natural agent that manages forests. As Nikiforuk concludes: if you remove one agent of renewal in a forest (such as fire), another will take its place. And so, following centuries of forest management, the stage has been set for Empire of the Beetle." Vancouver Sun, Sep 29, 2011 Read more >>Read more about Empire of the Beetle >> |
Empire of the Beetle"This fascinating and thought-provoking book about an ancient insect pest exposes the frailty of seemingly stable man-managed habitats and presages the climate-induced ordeals to come." National Post, Sep 16, 2011 Read more >>Read more about Empire of the Beetle >> |