Scan barcode
mxmrow's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars as it repeats itself a bit and is a lot about monarch butterflies but overall still enjoyable.
shawnwhy's review against another edition
5.0
the parts about Monarch Butterfly ingesting poison ( milk weed is actually poisonous to them as well) is interesting, and the resilience of the monarchs shown through their long migrating is also interesting to read about. Anything that mentions Nabokov's obsession and anything that reminds me of Ada is a instant hit for me. also interesting to read about preserving complex chains of habitats and organisms at least practically as a canary in the coal mine is a cool idea.
cammiem8's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.75
A good overview for people who aren’t knowledgeable about ecology or entomology. I learned some interesting facts about butterflies, but found some of the author’s narrative chapters and prose to be a bit boring.
reading_leaf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
I loved it. Very wholesome and so cool to learn about mundane people in here that discovered GREAT And amazing things!
kelseymay's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not too fond of the author, but the scientific content is great.
amielizabeth's review against another edition
2.0
The subject matter was quite interesting, but the writing in this book really threw me off. There are typos and grammatical errors; there are entires sentences repeated (such as researchers having to wear a mask when studying butterflies so they do not inhale the wings). The book read as if it had not been polished or edited, but it is published by a highly reputable publishing company.
The cover is gorgeous and I am more interested in butterflies than I was before, but the writing was off-putting throughout.
The cover is gorgeous and I am more interested in butterflies than I was before, but the writing was off-putting throughout.
cloudss's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.75
gets better as you go. wanted more context!! (not written by historian + has some basic takes on feminism in the past) but does well at using lay terms
best part is german butterfly artist lady + SCIENCE experiments on monarchs
best part is german butterfly artist lady + SCIENCE experiments on monarchs
spinescens's review against another edition
DNF at 20%
Wow I hate the way this book is written. I feel like this would've worked better as a celebrity hosted docu-series airing on the Discovery Channel or something. I'm really not interested in reading a 250 page opinion piece on butterflies when what I actually want is butterfly ecology.
Wow I hate the way this book is written. I feel like this would've worked better as a celebrity hosted docu-series airing on the Discovery Channel or something. I'm really not interested in reading a 250 page opinion piece on butterflies when what I actually want is butterfly ecology.
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
It’s almost universal that people love butterflies. It’s almost equally universal people don’t like moths. But the difference between a butterfly and a moth isn’t what you might think it is. Instead, it’s a small body part that controls how the wings move and that’s about it.
If that has you intrigued, this book will be your jam like it was mine.
Set up in three parts: past, present, and future, Williams -- who writes in a super approachable, delighted manner, but with great research to buoy the book -- takes a deep dive into the butterfly and her allure.
A wholly fascinating book, I learned so much about butterflies. Their wings are actually made of scales, which I didn’t know, and more, the blue butterflies that are so highly prized are such because they are among the few things in nature where blue is an actual hue, as opposed to a reflection of light upon their wings. Williams doesn’t go into the thievery of butterflies as much as I’d hoped, but with name drops, I know there are a ton of people whose stories and crimes I’ll be Googling later. I also had no idea the black on the wings of the monarch are actually veins. Oh, and the book digs into how horrible the male monarchs are toward the females when they want to mate . . . at least in the early generations. Once they’re onto the fourth generation, or the ones that will migrate, the females are much more safe, as the males have lost a lot of their machismo. If you’re unfamiliar with the ideas of monarch generations, you’ll get up to speed here, too.
Williams is delighted by everything she learns, and by turns, it makes the reader delighted, too. This isn’t an especially long book, and while it’s well-researched, it’s a breezy read. In the author’s note, Williams mentions being almost 70 (or in her 70s, I can’t entirely remember). I don’t remember the last time I read a book by an author who was older, so bonus points for that. It was neat to experience the world of butterflies through her eyes, and frankly, I’ll never look at them the same way through my own.
If that has you intrigued, this book will be your jam like it was mine.
Set up in three parts: past, present, and future, Williams -- who writes in a super approachable, delighted manner, but with great research to buoy the book -- takes a deep dive into the butterfly and her allure.
A wholly fascinating book, I learned so much about butterflies. Their wings are actually made of scales, which I didn’t know, and more, the blue butterflies that are so highly prized are such because they are among the few things in nature where blue is an actual hue, as opposed to a reflection of light upon their wings. Williams doesn’t go into the thievery of butterflies as much as I’d hoped, but with name drops, I know there are a ton of people whose stories and crimes I’ll be Googling later. I also had no idea the black on the wings of the monarch are actually veins. Oh, and the book digs into how horrible the male monarchs are toward the females when they want to mate . . . at least in the early generations. Once they’re onto the fourth generation, or the ones that will migrate, the females are much more safe, as the males have lost a lot of their machismo. If you’re unfamiliar with the ideas of monarch generations, you’ll get up to speed here, too.
Williams is delighted by everything she learns, and by turns, it makes the reader delighted, too. This isn’t an especially long book, and while it’s well-researched, it’s a breezy read. In the author’s note, Williams mentions being almost 70 (or in her 70s, I can’t entirely remember). I don’t remember the last time I read a book by an author who was older, so bonus points for that. It was neat to experience the world of butterflies through her eyes, and frankly, I’ll never look at them the same way through my own.