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Original Essays | April 29, 2013
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The Future of Lifeby Edward O. Wilson
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:From one of the world?s most influential scientists (and two-time Pulitzer Prize?winning author) comes his most timely and important book yet: an impassioned call for quick and decisive action to save Earth?s biological heritage, and a plan to achieve that rescue.
Today we understand that our world is infinitely richer than was ever previously guessed. Yet it is so ravaged by human activity that half its species could be gone by the end of the present century. These two contrasting truths — unexpected magnificence and underestimated peril — have become compellingly clear during the past two decades of research on biological diversity. In this dazzlingly intelligent and ultimately hopeful book, Wilson describes what treasures of the natural world we are about to lose forever — in many cases animals, insects, and plants we have only just discovered, and whose potential to nourish us, protect us, and cure our illnesses is immeasurable — and what we can do to save them. In the process, he explores the ethical and religious bases of the conservation movement and deflates the myth that environmental policy is antithetical to economic growth by illustrating how new methods of conservation can ensure long-term economic well-being. The Future of Life is a magisterial accomplishment: both a moving description of our biosphere and a guidebook for the protection of all its species, including humankind. Review:"...[V]ery few have written this kind of environmental advocacy with as much authority, cogency, and style." Booklist
Synopsis:Presents an impassioned call for urgent action to save the Earth's biological heritage, identifying essential species that are threatened with extinction while identifying ways they can be saved and exploring the importance of conservation. 125,000 first printing.
Synopsis:One of the world's most important scientists, Edward O. Wilson is also an abundantly talented writer who has twice won the Pulitzer Prize. In this, his most personal and timely book to date, he assessesthe precarious state of our environment, examining the mass extinctions occurring in our time and the natural treasures we are about to lose forever. Yet, rather than eschewing doomsday prophesies, he spells out a specificplan to save our world while there is still time. His vision is a hopeful one, as economically sound as it is environmentally necessary. Eloquent, practical and wise, this book should be read and studied by anyoneconcerned with the fate of the natural world.
From the Trade Paperback edition. About the AuthorEdward O. Wilson is the author of two Pulitzer Prize–winning books, On Human Nature (1978) and The Ants (1990, with Bert Hölldobler), as well as many other groundbreaking works, including Consilience, Naturalist, and Sociobiology. A recipient of many of the world’s leading prizes in science and conservation, he is currently Pellegrino University Research Professor and Honorary Curator in Entomology of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. He lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, with his wife, Renee.
Table of ContentsTo the ends of the earth — The bottleneck — Nature's last stand — The planetary killer — How much is the biosphere worth? — For the love of life — The solution.
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