Scorpion
- ISBN-10
- 1780236255
- ISBN-13
- 9781780236254
- Series
- Scorpion
- Category
- Nature
- Pages
- 208
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2016-06-15
- Publisher
- Reaktion Books
- Author
- Louise M. Pryke
Description
No creature has quite the sting in our mythology and folklore as the scorpion. From the dawn of human civilization they have been a dangerous figure in our imaginations—poisonous, precise, and deadly quiet—but as Louise M. Pryke shows in this book, their bad reputation has overshadowed many exceptional qualities. Scurrying across hundreds of millions of years and across every continent except Antarctica, this book gives the scorpion its due as one of nature’s longest lasting survivors. Indeed scorpions are older than dinosaurs. An ancient arthropod, their form—notable for its pair of pincers and an elegant tail that holds a menacing stinger high in the air in a permanent striking position—hasn’t changed since prehistoric times, though today there are some 1700 different species. Throughout our existence scorpions have served as a powerful cultural and religious symbol—sometimes dangerous, sometimes protecting—from the Egyptian goddess Serket to Zodiac astrology to folk medicine. A fascinating tour that takes us from the art of North Africa to the American Civil War to the markets of Beijing, Scorpion is an homage to one of earth’s oldest residents.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
The House of the Scorpion
By Nancy FarmerDiscover this internationally bestselling, National Book Award–winning young adult classic about what it means to be human with an updated, reimagined cover!
-
The Scorpion's Sting: Antislavery and the Coming of the Civil War
By James OakesExplores the Civil War and the anti-slavery movement, specifically highlighting the plan to help abolish slavery by surrounding the slave states with territories of freedom and discusses the possibility of what could've been a more peaceful ...
-
Scorpion Venoms
By P. Gopalakrishnakone, Lourival D. Possani, Elisabeth F. SchwartzThis volume of the Toxinology handbook series covers all those aspects.
-
Scorpions!: Strange and Wonderful
By Laurence PringleWe have been taught to fear scorpions in any form. But scorpions usually sting either to subdue their prey or to protect themselves. In fact, Earth has two thousand scorpion species, but only a few dozen are deadly to humans.
-
Scorpion
By Douglas BakerScorpion
-
Scorpion Shards
By Neal ShustermanSix teenagers, each tormented by what seems to be an exaggerated adolescent affliction, come together to try to stop the "beasts" that threaten to destroy them and the world.
-
Tarantula Vs. Scorpion
By Jerry PallottaContains facts about the tarantula and the scorpion, comparing such aspects as their sizes, brain structure, and abilities.
-
Scorpion Winter
By Andrew KaplanThe ex-CIA agent-turned-freelance spy is on assignment in Russia, disturbing a hornet’s nest of assassination and political intrigue that could erupt in all-out global war in this electrifying espionage thriller that will enthrall Robert ...
-
Curse of the Red Scorpion
By Scott NickelAfter learning about the curse of the red scorpion at the museum, Miitchell is overcome with fear that the scorpion will come for him.
-
Scorpion Tongues New and Updated Edition: Gossip, Celebrity, and American Politics
By Gail CollinsComplete with wickedly delightful anecdotes of major and minor politicians and entertainers over the last 200 years, Gail Collins examines the evolving relationship between politicians and the press and the blurring of the lines between ...