Biodiversity: A Beginner's Guide

Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications)

by John I. Spicer

Our future is closely tied to that of the variety of life on Earth, and yet there is no greater threat to it than us. From population explosions and habitat destruction to climate change and mass extinctions, John Spicer explores the causes and consequences of our biodiversity crisis. In this revised and updated edition, he examines how grave the situation has become over the past decade and outlines what we must do now to protect and preserve not just nature’s wonders but the essential services that biodiversity provides for us, seemingly for nothing.

Genres: Environment, Food, Biology

272 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1998

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book achieves quite well what it sets out to do, be an introduction to the concept of biological diversity. It can be roughly divided into two parts, the first half dealing with the science of biodiversity, the what, where and how of it, while the second half dealt with the human aspects, the threats, the uses and lastly a short history of key moments in global governance addressing the loss of biodiversity. A fairly comprehensive coverage overall, and even for those who are already familiar with the field there are things to learn, as the author used his own specialization on marine biology to illustrate his points with examples from sea life, which is probably less widely known.

The conservation oriented part came across as rather bland and generic by comparison, being basically an info-dump of statistics and dates. While that could work for serving as an overview, the personal touch in the previous section that made the book more enjoyable was lacking. There was a short update for this second edition at the end. Here, Spicer got personal again, making a plea for action from the basis of his religion and concern for descendants. This time though it just felt awkward and unnecessary.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

An authoritative and accessible guide to biodiversity. It starts with how it’s defined and measured, and how we started out with such a wonderful variety of life. It then goes on to examine the threats to biodiversity and our rather limited attempts to preserve it. Difficult to find fault with it, although I’m nothing more than an amateur in the field.