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| The Diversity of Life | 
| Author: Edward O. Wilson
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy Used: $5.78
You Save: $12.17 (68%)
New (23) from $9.91
Avg. Customer Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 30195
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 424
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0393319407
Dewey Decimal Number: 333.95
EAN: 9780393319408
ASIN: 0393319407
Publication Date: May 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Creasing/folds on cover.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Mars Attacks! (Or worse?) January 2, 2006
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
What would we do if pitiless invading aliens began snuffing out "each day ... 74" of the Earth's species"? If you can imagine that--and given the narcoleptic response to Katrina (excepting the amazing Coast Guard), the even more bizarre scenario that our government might actually swing into action--what sort of counterattack would we mount? Wilson and many others have long warned of the importance of biodiversity for human survival. Some critics have tried to ridicule this idea by zeroing in on some eccentrically named endangered species that dares to slow our society's prime directive: Pavementization. As in, "Construction of our fine new five-mile-square Wal-Co is being held up by something called the mauve lacewing nightingale slug!" But anyone tempted to laugh off the extinction pandemic need only kick their way through the toxic rubble of New Orleans and contemplate the storm-pillowing powers of once lush, biologically diverse wetlands. Wilson writes: "The sixth great extinction spasm of geological time is upon us, grace of mankind. Earth has at last acquired a force that can break the crucible of biodiversity." Professor Edward O. Wilson's brilliant book should be read by every literate life-form. We need to stop our War on the World, really a war upon ourselves--but being waged most savagely against our own grandchildren.
Wonderful Life! December 17, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
The greatest strength of this book is its dizzying examples of life, and communities of life, in the most improbable circumstances. It brought home to me as no other biology book has just what a strange and wonderful thing life on earth is. Wilson also gives a useful summary here of his well-known arguments why it is in the self interest of each one of us, even that of the most amoral politician, to protect the diversity of life on earth.
 Challenging but vital reading December 4, 2005
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Edward Wilson takes off where popular science accounts of evolution leaves off, demonstrating how life, interacting with other life and the environment, gives birth to new species and indeed whole ecosystems.
This is *not* an easy book to read; not because it is badly written, but because the subject matter is highly complex.
It is also a hard book to read because it makes you realize how unthinkingly destructive humanity can be. When you realize how long it takes for a species to arise, and how delicate an ecosystem is, it becomes a lot harder to justify ransacking of wilderness areas for short-term gain.
A ' Must Have' For Budding Ecologists October 11, 2005
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I read this in preparation to embarking on a university course in environmental management. I found that having previously read a book which was more of a classic text book, this was the perfect compliment. It is not only a great read, but compellingly argued. He combines beautifully his own research and observations with those of others. An absolute must for anyone interested in the subject.
Concise and Informative Text on the Values of Biodiversity September 20, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Edward O. Wilson's The Diversity of Life is an excellent beginning volume for anyone interested in biodiversity and basic biological and biogeographical concepts. He has a genuine passion for the subject, and offers explanations anyone can understand.
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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