Dino Martins at the Harvard Science Center

presenting Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites
About this Event

RSVP is required for this event.

Harvard Book Store, the Harvard University Division of Science, and the Harvard Library welcome Dino Martins—award-winning entomologist and evolutionary biologist, and professor at Stony Brook University—for a discussion of his new book, Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites. The presentation will take place in Hall E, downstairs at the Harvard Science Center, located at 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge. Elevator access is available for attendees who need it.

Ticketing

RSVP for free to this event or choose the "Book-Included" ticket to reserve a copy of Hidden Creatures and pick it up at the event. Following the presentation will be a book signing.

Note: Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.

About Hidden Creatures

Welcome to the hidden, squirming world of parasites—some of the most misunderstood creatures with whom we share the Earth (and our bodies).
There is the tapeworm, which can grow 120 feet in length within the gut of a whale; the tsetse fly, a notorious vector of disease that can pierce the skin even of crocodiles with its needle-like mouth; and the most universal symbol of parasitic behavior: the leech. Long villainized as, well, parasitic, these creatures are actually a vital part of every ecosystem—and Dr. Dino Martins, an award-winning entomologist and biologist from Kenya, has made it his life’s mission to demystify these beguiling beings.
Hidden Creatures is a journey across the world ten times over—from Martins’ home in the wilds of East Africa to the rainforests of Borneo to cities and backyards across the globe. Along the way we encounter brilliant and eccentric experts who join Martins on his adventures to investigate not only parasites but their hosts, from hyraxes and hippos to, of course, humans.
Immersive, driven by an utterly infectious curiosity, and sure to transform every reader’s understanding of these organisms, Hidden Creatures has the magnetic force of a David Attenborough documentary and introduces a monumental, charming new voice in science writing.

Praise for Hidden Creatures

"Astonishing, eye-opening, and inspiring." —Chloe Dalton, author of Raising Hare
“There’s an undeniable appeal to learning about creatures we can’t see or even feel but that have such a huge effect on our health and well-being—and that’s not to mention the charming eccentrics who study them.” —The Boston Globe
“A fascinating compendium of all the critters, some big, some small, some harmless and some lethal, that lie in wait for unsuspecting warm-blooded creatures. . . . Martins marvels, and so does the reader, at the creativity of nature. . . . The most persistent feeling, and one that Martins conveys beautifully, is one of awe at the sheer diversity and inventiveness of the living world.” —The Guardian

Bio

Dino Martins is an award-winning entomologist and evolutionary biologist. A professor at Stony Brook University, he has served as the director of the Turkana Basin Institute in Kenya, founded by Dr. Richard Leakey, and previously as the director of the Mpala Research Centre. He holds a PhD in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University. His research and writing have been featured in Smithsonian Magazine, The Guardian, Granta, and National Geographic and on TED and the BBC. He lives on Long Island and in Malindi, Kenya.

The Harvard Science Book Talks series is a collaboration between the Harvard University Division of Science, the Harvard Library, and Harvard Book Store. The series features talks by the authors of recently published books on a variety of science-related topics and is open to both the Harvard community and to the general public. Learn more and watch recordings of past talks here.