LOCUST - THE DEVASTATING RISE AND MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 15 working days In 1876, the U.S. Congress declared the locust "the single greatest impediment to the settlement of the country between Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains." Throughout the nineteenth century, swarms of locusts regularly swept across the American continent, turning noon into dusk, devastating farm communities, and bringing trains to a halt. The outbreaks subsided in the 1890s, and then, suddenly--and mysteriously--the Rocky Mountain locust vanished. A century later, entomologist Jeffrey Lockwood vowed to discover why."Locust" is the story of how one insect shaped the history of the western United States. A compelling personal narrative drawing on historical accounts and modern science, this beautifully written book brings to life the cultural, economic, and political forces at work in America in the late nineteenth century, even as it solves one of the greatest extinction mysteries of our time. Features Summary "In 1876, the U.S. Congress declared the locust "the single greatest impediment to the settlement of the country between Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains... Author Jeffrey A. Lockwood Publisher BasicBooks Release date 20050420 Pages 320 ISBN 0-465-04167-1 ISBN 13 978-0-465-04167-1