ANDREW SPIELMAN

Professor Andrew Spielman has dedicated his life to understanding this insect. Here, he tells the story of man''s struggle to live with the mosquito, from the defeat of Sir Francis Drake''s fleet, to the death of thousands of Frenchmen working on the Panama Canal, to the panic over the West Nile Virus in New York. He shows how we have accelerated the spread of disease, describing the catastrophic failures of mosquito controls which have ensured that - even now - one person dies of malaria every 12 seconds. ''A fascinating and terrifying investigation into a vicious little killer.'' Sunday Times ''Terrifying.'' Evening Standard Would you describe a mosquito as ''beautiful''? The authors of this book do, as they detail its life-cycle and list its effect on mankind and the rest of the animal kingdom. Mosquitos have little use in the world it seems, other than to carry terrible diseases like Malaria, Dengue and Yellow fever. They need blood in order to reproduce and feed their young, and will live in any stagnant water. One species, the Tiger mosquito, favoured the inside of old car tyres as its home and was imported in this way, unknowingly by man, into Texas in the 1980s. The mozzie is not to be trifled with: in the arctic it can completely drain a caribou carcass of blood. The book tells of the awful toll on human lives throughout the ages, and the way global movement of people and commodities can introduce this serious menace. The pages turn fast; written with immense enthusiasm and knowledge. The human-suffering over the centuries is fascinating and horrifying. The authors question the banning of DDT because this chemical seems to control mosquitos more effectively than others. They conclude that genetic engineering may play a part in the future, but until a method of controlling them has been found, the mosquito will spread. Very readable and sure to please the junior entomologist as well as the general reader. (Kirkus UK)