[.ca] The Earth Dwellers: Adventures in the Land of Ants (ISBN 0684830450)

This is a great book and I'm not a myrmecologist:
This book was very entertaining and I learned a lot about a few types of ants. The ant perspective was kind of a cool way to present the information. He does a good job of presenting ants and their ecological importance without getting so technical that it sounds like a paper in ecology. He did focus on Costa Rica but how can you blame somebody for doing that. I really got into it. The way he divided the story between the ants and the ant guys, E. O. Wilson namely, was a nice change of pace. It reads fast and the glossaries in the back help with any terms that aren't familiar. I really enjoy it. Buy the book, you'll learn lots and you will be entertained at the same time.

Solid, well written, easy to read:
Erich Hoyt's work sets forth tons of interesting ant information (and some information about the myrmecologists who study ants) in a readable, useful format. This is lighter reading than Wilson and Holldobler's classic The Ants, but it is still chock-ful of good information about ants and about Professor Wilson. I found myself wanting to know more details about more types of ants, and a bit more coverage of the domestic US ants than this work provides, but it's still a fine work. If you want to read something insightful about ants but don't want a hard science tome, this is a good pick.

Excellent in general, but falters at times.:
As a lifelong myrmecophile I get quite excited at the rare appearance of a new ant-book in any local bookshop. Thus, I opened this one ready to be impressed immediately. In general, I was not too disappointed. The perspective of the book, which shifts from that of the ants to that of the professional myrmecologist, is a little different from that of the usual tome. When written from the perspective of the Costa Rican ant species, which are its central study, the book works well and gives an insight into the lives of the Carpenters, Leaf Cutters, Fire and Army ants which is both entertaining and informative. However, the book also observes the lives of the eminent scientists involved in an exhaustive study of Costa Rican ant species. I found these diversions less interesting. I wanted a book on ants and for eighty per cent of the time that is what I got. Buy it.