Rating: 
Summary: Way over-hyped
Review: I confess that I am not an entomologist--I bought this book hoping to find out interesting things about ants and the structure of ant "society". That notwithstanding, I cannot understand why other reviewers found this book so fascinating. 90% of this book is not worth skimming. There certainly are some interesting tidbits, but most of the book centers are the author's fascination with herself and her long list of lab assistants and friends in the field. Perhaps the experts are better judges of this book; however, I learned more from a special on the discovery channel than I did this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A whole world opens before your eyes
Review: I LOVE this book. What a rare peek over the shoulder of a true scientist with an inquisitive mind and appreciation for the art and beauty of science, applied to these tiny but incredibly interesting creatures. Within the same nest reside 5 or more ant types based on function. In that nest, some live up to 20 years while others "don't live long enough to EVER eat." I will never look at ants the same. Thank you for an insightful and wonderful story that makes life worth living.
Rating:
Summary: Antz For Real
Review: I used to collect ants when I was younger, putting them into fishbowls filled with dirt to watch them build their nests. I think the various behaviors they exhibit are fascinating and I find it quite enjoyable to read Ms. Gordon's book. She's obviously not a novelist, but her writing style is easy to read, to the point, and displays a sense of humor and good-naturedness. I agree with the earlier reviews- this is a lot easier and more interesting to read than a dry textbook, yet it is an excellent source of information about the particular types of ants she studied. If you've never given much thought to these little creatures, reading this book will give you an appreciation of what an amazing world exists within an ant colony and its environs.
Rating:
Summary: You should read this book if...
Review: I'm a bit surprised by some of the negative comments about this book, because they seem to have missed its point. This isn't a formal presentation of the author's research. It therefore lacks many details, does not review the full range of other relevant literature, and it has not been honed by a committee of reviewers. What it DOES do is to give the reader who doesn't know anything about ants a very readable narrative account of how one might go about finding out something about them. This book is as much about how to apply the scientific method to the messy world of animal behavior as it is about ants in particular. Gordon's account of how to do that seems to have been mistaken by some as self indulgence. If you're looking for a detailed account of ants, you should see Holldobler and Wilson's 700+ page "The Ants." If you want an introduction to what's interesting about ants and how people go about studying them, Gordon's book is a great read.
Rating:
Summary: You should read this book if...
Review: I'm a bit surprised by some of the negative comments about this book, because they seem to have missed its point. This isn't a formal presentation of the author's research. It therefore lacks many details, does not review the full range of other relevant literature, and it has not been honed by a committee of reviewers. What it DOES do is to give the reader who doesn't know anything about ants a very readable narrative account of how one might go about finding out something about them. This book is as much about how to apply the scientific method to the messy world of animal behavior as it is about ants in particular. Gordon's account of how to do that seems to have been mistaken by some as self indulgence. If you're looking for a detailed account of ants, you should see Holldobler and Wilson's 700+ page "The Ants." If you want an introduction to what's interesting about ants and how people go about studying them, Gordon's book is a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Better than a Textbook
Review: My science teacher had this book out in the laboratory, along with several other books and guides that are current and invited us to spend that period browsing and reading. I checked this book out and also the one on Nabokov's butterfly work-- Nabokov's Blues-- for Thanksgiving holiday. Ms. Gordon's book is much better than a textbook or fieldguide because it provides an exciting story about ants and how they work. The vivid desciptions personalize ants and make it more like a book verson of "A Bug's Life" movie-- but SERIOUS about the science; so is the story about Nabokov the scientist, which reads with a plot. Ants at Work was easy to read, extremely interesting and probably taught me more about ants than I could have learned from a textbook or lab manual. If it had one drawback against the Nabokov story it was only that Nabokov's exciting work on butterflies, as told by Mr. Johnson and Mr. Coates, had an ongoing plot-- about the famous writer's life and other scientists too. But, Ms. Gordon's book was fascinating and I thought my teacher's idea to have us learn about ants and butterflies by reading these more exciting books was a great idea. Both Ants at Work and Nabokov's Blues are perhaps best suited for adults after high school but I had no trouble with either book and sure felt I learned more about insects reading these books than I would have studying a dry textbook. It was a good suggestion by our teacher for the holidays.
Rating:
Summary: full of promise, but ultimately dull
Review: The subject matter is fascinating, but I found this (rather slim) book very dry and dull. As another reviewer noted, it's not really a book about ants or ant society in general; it's the story of Prof. Gordon's research into one particular *kind* of ant, told in the first person. A brief web search turned up more interesting information in a minute or two than I found in the whole of the book; Sorry, but don't waste your money.
Rating: 
Summary: First hand info, and a fresh view on ants
Review: What I loved in this book is that it doesn't just tell you how smart colonies are and how well the self-organization works. As a mathematician with a background in alife and ant-like models, this wouldn't surprise me in 2000. What's new and interesting is the focus on the colony as the metha-organism, as the new unit-of-selection for evolution, leaving in a field populated by a lot of colonies; this leads to the question of the morphology and morphogenesis of the colony as such, which fascinating questions and possible answers. One of the ideas which the author proposes, with a clever insight, is about the relation between the size of the colony and the task-allocation dynamics, through the use of a same response to the interaction frecuency... An idea which, as a mathematician, I'm eager to explore.
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