Anthill

Name: Anthill
ISBN: 9787572238253

爱德华·威尔逊 / 王尔山 / 魏闻骐Zhejiang Education Publishing House · ChinaJul 2022

3.9

Word count: 200K words
Chapters: 48
ISBN: 9787572238253

Report an error Find this book

Summary

In Anthill, Wilson tells the coming-of-age story of an American boy, Raff Cody. To escape the tensions between his parents, young Cody often flees to the Lake Nokobee area near his home, where he observes and studies the animals and plants and gradually grows into a young naturalist. By the time he graduates from college, Cody has completed his thesis on an anthill.

Editor's review

Anthill focuses on a boy and a lake area; on the surface it is a coming-of-age story, but within it is a naturalist's gentle demonstration of how to observe nature. When Cody escapes family conflict he heads to the Lake Nokobee area, observing plants and animals and recording what he sees. This path of "fleeing into nature" gives the coming-of-age narrative a concrete anchor: knowledge is not instilled but grows through repeated looking and questioning. The most moving parts of the book are often not plot twists but the detailed descriptions of the anthill and the creatures by the lake, which remind readers how precious the ability to crouch down and look at the world is. It suits slow reading on a quiet afternoon, and also suits parents and children reading together before going outdoors for a walk. If you want to recover your curiosity about the plants, insects, and birds around you, this book is a gentle entry point.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy nature observation and natural history and are willing to read slowly and savor细节
Parents and teachers concerned with adolescent growth and family education
Parent-child readers who want to cultivate children's interest in observing nature through stories
General readers who wish to reconnect with nature in a fast-paced life

Not a good fit for

Readers of genre fiction seeking strong plot and fast-paced narrative
Readers hoping for systematic biological knowledge or popular science reference books
Readers with little interest in coming-of-age themes and nature writing

Reading tips

Read slowly; when you encounter nature descriptions, pause and recall similar scenes you have seen.
Keep a small notebook to record the plants, animals, or observation methods mentioned in the book, and verify them outdoors after reading.
When reading together, parent and child can read one chapter first, then talk about why Cody always runs to the lake.
After finishing, pick a nearby park or green space and take an aimless observation walk.

About the publisher

Zhejiang Education Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Zhejiang Education Publishing House is a professional publisher focusing on educational publishing while also serving general readers and academic accumulation, with publications covering textbooks, educational readers, popular science, and academic works. Judging from the more than 1,000 titles in the database, the press places considerable emphasis on classics and traditional culture for general readers: modern literature includes Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Lu Xun's Call to Arms and Wandering and Wild Grass, Xiao Hong's The Story of Hulan River, and Zhu Ziqing's Back View; classical poetry includes Three Hundred Tang Poems and selections from the "Good Chinese Poetry" series, such as the Chu Ci and Qing ci anthologies. Related authors include modern writers such as Lao She, Lu Xun, Xiao Hong, and Zhu Ziqing, as well as classical literature selectors and annotators such as Hengtang Tuishi, Jin Xingyao, Jin Kaicheng, and Qian Zhonglian. Common categories in the database also include social novels, classic works, prose and miscellaneous writings, popular science, and inspirational growth, reflecting a publishing orientation that balances educational service with the popularization of public culture.

版权信息
序言三个平行世界的故事
Ⅰ 湖畔的初次探险
01
Ⅱ 未来的博物学家
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
Ⅲ 去探索吧，年轻人
15
16
17
18
Ⅳ 蚁丘编年史
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Ⅴ 现实世界的运行法则
28
29
30
31
32
Ⅵ 保卫家园之战
33
34
35
36
37
38
致谢
附录动植物译名对照表

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a popular science book?

It is first a story work centered on a boy's growth, while incorporating a great deal of nature observation. Readers can follow Cody's experiences and feel the confusion and choices of growing up, and can also experience a naturalist's eye through detailed descriptions of plants and animals; the two are interwoven rather than pure popular science.

What age of children is it suitable for?

The protagonist grows from a youth into a college student, and the narrative pace is relatively slow; it is more suitable for middle school students and above who have some reading patience and an interest in nature. Younger children can, with parental accompaniment, read selected passages with more nature descriptions; they need not read the whole book.

Do I need to know natural history before reading?

No. The descriptions of nature observation in the book are fairly concrete, and readers can follow Cody's perspective to learn about the surrounding environment. Some basic natural knowledge will make the reading feel more familiar, but it is not a prerequisite for understanding the story; curiosity is enough.

Why is the book called Anthill?

The anthill is both a specific object Cody observes over a long period and a symbol of a tiny yet orderly world. Through studying the anthill, Cody practices patience, recording, and questioning, which mirrors his gradual understanding of his own situation; the title thus has both literal and metaphorical meaning.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

爱德华·威尔逊 Author

Edward O. Wilson is an author known for his research on ants and other social insects. His works span popular science as well as social and cultural topics, exploring biological evolution and social behavior while reflecting on humanity's place in and future within the natural world. The library holds seven of his works, including the 13-volume Mind Enlightenment Series, The Story of Ants, The Social Conquest of Earth, The Origins of Creativity, Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life, The Meaning of Human Existence, and Anthill, covering categories such as social culture, popular science, social science, and foreign literature. Grounded in rigorous scientific observation, his writing translates specialized knowledge into clear prose for general readers, combining rationality with humanistic concern when addressing ecology, human nature, and civilization. Public information on his birth and death years, nationality, and education is limited, so no speculation is offered here.

王尔山 Author

Public information about Wang Ershan is limited. Judging from the four works held in the collection, his writing and translation interests span biography, popular science, language, and literature. His representative works include A Beautiful Mind: The Life of John Nash, The Most Beautiful of Endless Forms, The Meaning We Live By, and Ant Hill. Among them, A Beautiful Mind: The Life of John Nash belongs to the biography category and recounts the life of the mathematician Nash; The Most Beautiful of Endless Forms leans toward popular science and touches on natural forms and the beauty of science; The Meaning We Live By falls under language and writing and discusses the relationship between language and human life; Ant Hill belongs to foreign literature. It can thus be seen that Wang Ershan works on both biography and popular science as well as on language and literary subjects, often choosing themes at the intersection of science, mind, and the humanities and conveying knowledge to general readers.

魏闻骐 Author

Wei Wenqi is an author about whom limited public information is available. Two works are currently known under this name: The Most Beautiful of Endless Forms and Anthill. Judging from the common categories these works fall into, the author's writing spans both popular science and foreign literature, suggesting a dual interest in natural forms and living phenomena on the one hand, and narrative literary styles on the other. The title The Most Beautiful of Endless Forms carries a sense of contemplating the beauty of nature's creations and points toward popular-science writing on form and order, while Anthill, closer to a literary title, may use the world of ants to develop an allegory or narrative. Because the author's dates of birth and death, nationality, and educational background are not clearly recorded, a full biography is difficult to sketch; readers may instead approach the works themselves and appreciate a style that moves between science and literature. The available material is insufficient to judge the full scope of the author's writing, and only a preliminary positioning of the two works above can be offered.