"If you’re looking for a dose of wonder in your reading life, I recommend this beautiful book about the magic of fig trees."—Book Riot
Over millions of years, fig trees have shaped our world, influenced our evolution, nourished our bodies and fed our imaginations. And as author and ecologist Mike Shanahan proclaims, “The best could be yet to come.”
Gods, Wasps and Stranglers weaves together the mythology, history and ecology of one of the world’s most fascinating—and diverse—groups of plants, from their starring role in every major religion to their potential to restore rainforests, halt the loss of rare and endangered species and even limit climate change.
In this lively and joyous book, Shanahan recounts the epic journeys of tiny fig wasps, whose eighty-million-year-old relationship with fig trees has helped them sustain more species of birds and mammals than any other trees; the curious habits of fig-dependent rhinoceros hornbills; figs’ connection to Krishna and Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad; and even their importance to Kenya’s struggle for independence.
Ultimately, Gods, Wasps and Stranglers is a story about humanity’s relationship with nature, one that is as relevant to our future as it is to our past.
- ISBN10 1603587977
- ISBN13 9781603587976
- Publish Date 12 April 2018 (first published 1 November 2016)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 22 June 2022
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Chelsea Green Publishing Co
- Format Paperback
- Pages 208
- Language English