The Cockroach Papers: A Compendium of History and Love

Richard Schweid

ISBN 10: 1568581378 / ISBN 13: 9781568581378

Published by Four Walls Eight Windows, 1999

About this Item

Skittering figures of urban legend-and a ubiquitous reality-cockroaches are nearly as abhorred as they are ancient. Even as our efforts to exterminate them have developed into ever more complex forms of chemical warfare, roaches' basic design of six legs, two hypersensitive antennae, and one set of voracious mandibles has persisted unchanged for millions of years. But as Richard Schweid shows in The Cockroach Papers, while some species of these evolutionary superstars do indeed plague our kitchens and restaurants, exacerbate our asthma, and carry disease, our belief in their total villainy is ultimately misplaced. Traveling from New York City to Louisiana, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Morocco, Schweid blends stories of his own squirm-inducing roach encounters with meticulous research to spin a tale both humorous and harrowing. As he investigates roaches' more nefarious interactions with our species-particularly with those of us living at the margins of society-Schweid also explores their astonishing diversity, how they mate, what they'll eat, and what we've written about them (from Kafka and Nelson Algren to archy and mehitabel). Knowledge soon turns into respect, and Schweid looks beyond his own fears to arrive at an uncomfortable truth: We humans are no more peaceful, tidy, or responsible about taking care of the Earth or each other than these tiny creatures that swarm in the dark corners of our minds, homes, and cereal boxes.

Seller Inventory # CIN1568581378G

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Cockroach Papers: A Compendium of History and Love
• Publisher: Four Walls Eight Windows
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1568581378
• ISBN 13: 9781568581378
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

What has six legs, skulks around late at night, and likes to sniff out the hidden crevices, the dank corners, and the dark recesses? The cockroach, of course. The cockroach is a bug of great design. Most of its contemporaries from the Carboniferous period -- around 300 million B.C. -- are extinct, but cockroaches live on reproducing inside our walls and traveling the world as stowaways aboard ships. In The Cockroach Papers, readers learn more than they ever wanted to know about this nasty little pest. It features a mix of anecdotal material from people who have had memorable (mostly nightmarish) interactions with roaches and facts about the lives of roaches -- from where they live and how they mate to their much-awaited dying days.

About the Author

Richard Schweid is the author of three books on such diverse subjects as hot peppers and Cajuns, catfish farmers in the Mississippi Delta, and Barcelona, Spain, where he lives.