Anthill: A Novel

Wilson, Edward O.

ISBN 10: 0393071197 ISBN 13: 9780393071191

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010

Synopsis

Winner of the 2010 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for fiction: Inspirational and magical, the story of boy who grows up determined to save the world from its most savage ecological predator: Man himself.

"What the hell do you want?" snarled Frogman at Raff Cody, as the boy stepped innocently onto the reputed murderer's property. Fifteen years old, Raff, along with his older cousin, Junior, had only wanted to catch a glimpse of Frogman’s 1000-pound alligator.

Thus, begins the saga of Anthill, which follows the thrilling adventures of a modern-day Huck Finn, whose improbable love of the "strange, beautiful, and elegant" world of ants ends up transforming his own life and the citizens of Nokobee County. Battling both snakes bites and cynical relatives who just don’t understand his consuming fascination with the outdoors, Raff explores the pristine beauty of the Nokobee wildland. And in doing so, he witnesses the remarkable creation and destruction of four separate ant colonies (“The Anthill Chronicles”), whose histories are epics that unfold on picnic grounds, becoming a young naturalist in the process.

An extraordinary undergraduate at Florida State University, Raff, despite his scientific promise, opts for Harvard Law School, believing that the environmental fight must be waged in the courtroom as well as the lab. Returning home a legal gladiator, Raff grows increasingly alarmed by rapacious condo developers who are eager to pave and subdivide the wildlands surrounding the Chicobee River. But one last battle awaits him in his epic struggle. In a shattering ending that no reader will forget, Raff suddenly encounters the angry and corrupt ghosts of an old South he thought had all but disappeared, and learns that “war is a genetic imperative,” not only for ants but for men as well.

Part thriller, part parable, Anthill will not only transfix readers with its stunning twists and startling revelations, but will provide readers with new insights into the meaning of survival in our rapidly changing world.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Advance Praise for Anthill

"Thick with the spell of nature, Anthill is a powerful tale of ant empires and a boy determined to save them.”―Diane Ackerman, author of The Zookeeper's Wife
Praise for Edward O. Wilson

“Wilson speaks with a humane eloquence which calls to us all.”―Oliver Sacks

"His style is gracious and lucid, the example of his life greatly inspiring."―Barry Lopez

“Wilson is a writer of enthralling importance for our place in time.”―Edward Hoagland, Los Angeles Times

“There’s a new Darwin. His name is Edward O. Wilson.”―Tom Wolfe

About the Author:

Edward O. Wilson is widely recognized as one of the world’s preeminent biologists and naturalists. The author of more than thirty books, including The Social Conquest of Earth, The Meaning of Human Existence, and Letters to a Young Scientist, Wilson is a professor emeritus at Harvard University. The winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he lives with his wife, Irene Wilson, in Lexington, Massachusetts.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0393071197
• ISBN 13: 9780393071191
• Binding: Roughcut
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384