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Author:   Niles Eldredge ,  Patricia J. Wynne
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 19.70cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   0.369kg
ISBN:  

9780691050096

ISBN 10:   0691050090
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   20 February 2000
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Language:   English

Table of Contents

Preface: The Biodiversity CrisisCh. 1Tales from the SwampPt. IThe Biodiversity Crisis in Microcosm1Pt. IIThe Ok Avango as Primordial Eden24Ch. 2Biodiversity, Evolution, and Ecology49Ch. 3The Tree of Life67Ch. 4Ecosystem Panorama113Ch. 5Biodiversity - A Threatened Natural Treasure143Ch. 6Striking a Balance177App. IAnimal Species Extinct Since Circa 1600195App. IIEssential Microbes, Fungi, Animals, and Plants208Bibliography of Suggested Readings216Index219

Reviews

The most important science book of the year. Publishers Weekly [Life in the Balance] is a natural history of the world seen through the eyes of a latter-day prophet... The text is a delight, written as if the story in all its intricate detail has been bottled up and is bursting to get out. -- David Bellamy New Scientist [Niles Eldredge] is at his best telling his readers about the rich web of life that exists in the Okavango Delta in Botswana... This remarkable area is one that he knows well and loves deeply. -- Peter H. Raven Scientific American A graceful and scholarly account. In particular, Eldredge's passionate description of one of the few 'Edens' left to us ... is a damning chronicle of what our world should be but is not. The Times Literary Supplement The story of man's dominion over nature and his subsequent abuse of power cannot be told too often, and Eldredge...has provided one of the most succinct accounts yet. -- Richard Fortey The New York Times Book Review ...a superb primer on why we should worry about biodiversity ... a clear, concise and beautifully illustrated tour of modern biology... -- Susan Okie The Washington Post Book World

From a leading paleontologist, a book (not a catalogue) to complement a show: the American Museum of Natural History's first issues exhibition, opening this spring in New York City, with curator Eldredge in charge. The theme is familiar to Eldredge (Reinventing Darwin, 1995, etc.) fans and environmentalists worldwide. In the author's dramatic words, the planet has undergone five major extinctions since life began - and we now face a sixth, the product of our own actions. The book sets out to answer four questions: What is biodiversity? Why should we care about it? What precisely threatens it? And what can we do to stem the tide? The answers are played out in terms of the twin modes that influence life: evolution and ecosystems. Interestingly, Eldredge begins with a close-up view of territory he knows well: Botswana, home to the Eden-like Okavango River delta, as well as the nearby dry Kalahari region. Vagaries of climate (recent drought), population increases, cattle-raising, abandonment of the local hunter-gatherer lifestyle for agriculture - these are among the major threats to the survival of the big hairies, as well as numerous others, including a species of termites that plays a unique role in the ecosystem. The book's remaining sections celebrate global biodiversity, allowing Eldredge to indulge in picking his favorites across the flora and fauna (nicely illustrated). The value of diversity addresses esthetics as well as the need to ensure variation for evolution to play upon, not to mention the potential for new sources of drugs and other useful goods. As for stemming the tide, the message is control, control, control (of excesses, land use, population) and empowerment of women and of local peoples to utilize local resources wisely - messages often heard but little heeded. In a book that's part rhapsody, part sermon, Eldredge once more may be addressing a choir of believers. One can only hope that the throngs attending the exhibition absorb and act on the message. (Kirkus Reviews)

Yet another volume on the 'biodiversity crisis', this book is written by a curator of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The book presents a more long-term view of biodiversity problems, noting the differences between the present extinction problems and comparing the cause and results to the 'great extinctions' of the past, when dinosaurs and marine invertebrates were the main losses. Eldredge's conclusion is largely the same as the biologists: the current crisis is severe and we need to do a lot to avert, or at least lessen, the effect of the impending 'Sixth Extinction'. Starting with a microcosmic excursion to Botswana's Okavango Delta, Eldredge offers a grand tour through life's organisms, and along the way, numerous prescriptions. Although clumsily written in places this book has much to offer. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Niles Eldredge is Curator in the Department of Invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History. He is the author of numerous books, including The Miner's Canary, Fossils, and Time Frames: The Evolution of Punctuated Equilibria (all Princeton).

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