May R. Berenbaum
Joseph Henry Press (an imprint of National Academy Press),
Washington, DC
2000, 298 pp. (US) paperback
Price: $14.95, ISBN 0-309-06835-5

If you’re like me, when the current issue of the American Entomologist appears in your mailbox, you turn immediately to the "Buzzwords" column, anxious for your quarterly dose of the witty, off-beat entomological humor that seems to flow effortlessly from the prolific pen of May Berenbaum. Fortunately, the National Academy Press recognized the broad appeal of her literary style and substance and has brought together forty-two of her essays for her fourth book entitled, Buzzwords: a scientist muses on sex, bugs, and rock’n’roll. A few of the essays were written especially for this collection, but the majority first appeared in the American Entomologist. Included are some of her more memorable pieces [e.g., "Pick a number from 1 to 1041," which examines the age-old question, "If all the offspring of a single fly survived to reproduce, how many flies would there be in a year?"; "Apis, Apis, Bobapis," which lists some of the bizarre and often indecorous scientific names that taxonomists have bestowed upon new insect species; and "Just say ‘Notodontid?’," which furnishes the hard facts regarding the $6.5 million war-on-drugs plan of the Bush (père) administration]. (You don’t remember that one? It called for air-dropping coca leaf-eating malumbia caterpillars over illicit Peruvian coca fields.)

Despite the scientific bent of the essays, Berenbaum routinely puzzles over facets of society as we know it, scientist or not. For example, in "P.C. Insects," "Bizzy, bizzy entomologists," "Super systematics," "Inquiring minds want to know," and "Got my mojo-workin’ (badly)," we learn of the politics surrounding the naming of official state insects (27 states in all!) and the ways in which insects are represented by the toy industry, the cartoon / comic book industries, the tabloids, and the computer-based game industry, respectively. In "Weird Al-eyrodidae? Weird Al-eocharinae," we catch a glimpse of the author as a wildly enthusiastic fan of Weird Al Yankovic, a reverence that even she is hard-pressed to explain. Who among us has not idolized with illogical, unabashed affection, a star of one sort or another?

Each essay in this collection provides an engaging melange of amusing reflection, well-crafted prose, and high scientific accuracy. A few provide a rare look at what some might characterize as the seamy side of research, but I confess that I chortled at the image of scientists quantifying methane production by various insects ("Putting on airs") and guffawed as I envisioned medical practitioners determining the most efficient way to extricate bugs from orifices of the human body ("Ain’t no bugs in me").

The book is organized into four sections: How entomologists see insects; How the world sees insects; How entomologists see themselves; How an entomologist sees science. References are provided at the end of the book although as Berenbaum points out, the bibliography represents "something of a hybrid"( i.e., a compromise between that which the general public would desire vs. that which a scientist would expect). Numerous whimsical cartoons enhance the essays.

Buzzwords is a delightful testament to the breadth and depth of Berenbaum’s interests and professional accomplishments, which have earned her a veritable bouillabaisse of plaudits. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and fellow of both the AAAS and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she also has been interviewed by national public radio’s Michael Feldman and was featured in an article published by "Parade" magazine (an insert for Sunday newspapers around the United States.). Celebrated entomologists have sung her praises, and syndicated columnist / humorist Dave Barry, along with book critics for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post, have joined the choir. Berenbaum’s latest book goes a long way toward dispelling the image of scientists as tedious intellectuals oblivious to the nonscientific world around them. I have used some of these columns in an Honors course for nonscience majors, and they met with rave reviews. I can only urge that you get up off your pygidium and purchase Buzzwords. Then sit back and prepare to engage in fits of light yet enlightened laughter, guaranteed to blow air out your spiracles.

Carol A. Sheppard
Department of Entomology
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-6382
American Entomologist
Vol. 47, No.2, Summer 2001