The Biodiversity Crisis: Losing What Counts

by Michael J. Novacek (Editor), American Museum of Natural History (Compililation)

The Biodiversity Crisis offers general audiences a clear understanding of the current threat to life on Earth posed by the fastest mass extinction in Earth's history, which has taken place over the last five hundred years. Unlike prior extinctions, this one is clearly a direct result of human activity, not of natural phenomena. Yet the public remains unaware of the crisis in sustaining biodiversity―the variety and interdependence of all living things on Earth. Published in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History, whose major Hall of Biodiversity opened to great acclaim, the book defines biodiversity, demonstrates its importance to life as we know it, and presents strategies and solutions, including what we can do in our own homes and communities, for stopping the escalating rate of species' extinction. It combines essays by experts including E. O. Wilson, Niles Eldredge, and Peter Raven; profiles of naturalists such as Jane Goodall; and case studies. Engaging and accessible, The Biodiversity Crisis presents the best scientific thinking in language and images that we can all understand, and is illustrated with photographs and drawings and supplemented with a resource section and a glossary of key terms.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

223 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2001

Reviews

[Beth K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't get to finish this because it was a bit too academic for me at the time (well, maybe at all times.) Edited by one of this country's foremost naturalists, it's filled with important essays on sustaining earth's diversity. I especially liked the small chapters highlighting important persons in the movement. Maybe one day when I feel like really digging into 'blue chrysomelid beetles' or 'global patterns of systematics capacity', I might pick it up again.