Peter Kuper's stunning Insectopolis takes readers on a journey, traveling through time and space in the company of Earth's most underappreciated beings. Each page is lush with closely observed detail: the iridescence of a beetle's exoskeleton, the velvety wing of a moth, the shadow cast by a single ant. Visually dazzling and rich with information, it is a book that will change the way you see the world and the trillions of tiny creatures scuttling and buzzing all around us.--Lauren Redniss, author of Oak Flat and Radioactive

It's generous of the insects to share their planet with us, and that's never been more powerfully (and charmingly) illustrated than by Peter Kuper. This book will reorient your understanding of humanity's place on earth.--Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

Insectopolis will forever change the way you look at bugs. Peter Kuper masterfully intertwines natural and social history to show how insects shaped the evolution of all life on Earth and, also, how they have helped change the course of civilization throughout millennia. With heart, wit, erudition, and a boundless sense of beauty, Kuper reveals the wonders of the often-neglected realm of arthropods while poignantly reminding us that we, humans, are but fleeting visitors in it.--Hernan Diaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Trust

Stunningly beautiful and hugely informative, Insectopolis is a perfect example of the importance of merging the sciences and arts. What an achievement!--Andrea Wulf, author of Magnificent Rebels and The Invention of Nature

Scientific facts are blended with cultural and historical vignettes in this beautiful book, a soon-to-be-treasured staple on the shelf of any insect lover.--Dr. Jessica L. Ware, curator and division chair of invertebrate zoology, American Museum of Natural History

Even if you're not a giant fan of insects, you'll have more respect for them, if not actual love, by reading Insectopolis. A fascinating and breathtakingly beautiful book.--Roz Chast, cartoonist

If insects weren't everywhere on Earth, you and I wouldn't be here either (on Earth). What about the other way round? What if we weren't here, but insects were, and these insects could read? In a library? It would be Insectopolis. That's a future Peter Kuper imagines and illustrates for us in exquisite detail. Take all the time you need. There are millions of years to review and quintillions of these creatures to consider.--Bill Nye, science educator

Insectopolis is wildly inventive and, at the same time, deeply informative. Every page is full of surprises.--Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction and Under a White Sky

Peter Kuper's Insectopolis is a visually stunning tribute to the world of bugs, revealing their profound impact on both nature and human history. I may not love insects yet, but after reading this, I'm definitely in awe of them.--Gene Luen Yang, author of American Born Chinese

At Kuper's hand, the architectural marvels of the NYPL, scientific illustration, and reproductions of historical imagery synthesize into something simultaneously rapturous and elegiac. . . . A truly unique, visually triumphant page-turner.-- "Library Journal (starred review)"

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Pub date: 2025-05-13

Length: 256 pages