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brandonadaniels's review against another edition
4.0
This got a little dry towards the middle, which caused me to almost leave it unfinished, but I’m very glad I came back to it. It sticks the landing quite well.
rchluther's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of interesting parts about the fate of the Rocky Mountain locusts. Lots of boring parts too.
melissahoward's review against another edition
4.0
In the book, On the Banks of Plum Creek, we read:
The cloud was hailing grasshoppers. The cloud was grasshoppers. Their bodies hid the sun and made darkness. Their thin, large wings gleamed and glittered. The rasping whirring of their wings filled the whole air and they hit the ground and the house with the noise of a hailstorm.
It is one of many ‘testimonial’ excerpts that Jeffrey A. Lockwood includes in his book Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect that Shaped the American Frontier.
It is a profound image that seems almost impossible to comprehend and leaves one wondering why we don’t experience such terrors today. Where did the grasshoppers go?
An Entomological Mystery
To read the rest of my review go to Suite101: http://historyphilosophybooks.suite101.com/article.cfm/locust_by_jeffrey_lockwood
The cloud was hailing grasshoppers. The cloud was grasshoppers. Their bodies hid the sun and made darkness. Their thin, large wings gleamed and glittered. The rasping whirring of their wings filled the whole air and they hit the ground and the house with the noise of a hailstorm.
It is one of many ‘testimonial’ excerpts that Jeffrey A. Lockwood includes in his book Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect that Shaped the American Frontier.
It is a profound image that seems almost impossible to comprehend and leaves one wondering why we don’t experience such terrors today. Where did the grasshoppers go?
An Entomological Mystery
To read the rest of my review go to Suite101: http://historyphilosophybooks.suite101.com/article.cfm/locust_by_jeffrey_lockwood
maddyb001's review against another edition
4.0
This book was one part memoir one part history one part scientific discovery. It came together beautifully.
bibliowrecka's review against another edition
3.0
I read this after reading Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser, a biography of both Laura Ingalls Wilder and of her books and relationship with her daughter. The episode with the grasshoppers in On the Banks of Plum Creek always fascinated and terrified me, so I decided to read more about the actual history. Lockwood studied the particular locust species (the only one in North America) for years and knows his stuff. Don't read if you can't handle LOTS of detailed information about bugs, though!
kedawen's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't expect a book about bugs to be so interesting, but it really was. It combined details about pioneers, entomology and adventure into one story.
duplica123's review against another edition
5.0
Really, just a fantastic read. The author is engaging, funny, gives great background history, and has an interesting goal in discovering what exactly happened to the devastating locust. Fast read and I felt like I really learned something.
bibliowrecka's review
3.0
I read this after reading Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser, a biography of both Laura Ingalls Wilder and of her books and relationship with her daughter. The episode with the grasshoppers in On the Banks of Plum Creek always fascinated and terrified me, so I decided to read more about the actual history. Lockwood studied the particular locust species (the only one in North America) for years and knows his stuff. Don't read if you can't handle LOTS of detailed information about bugs, though!