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Edward O. Wilson

The Diversity of Life

US$95

Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist Edward O. Wilson’s classic account of evolution and biodiversity remains as relevant as when first published in 1992. The Folio edition of The Diversity of Life features wonderful colour wildlife images and a foreword by Bill McKibben.

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Book Details
 
Presentation Box & BindingBound in soft-touch laminated paper printed and blocked in iridescent foil with a design by Jamie Keenan
Textured paper endpapers and slipcase
Dimensions9½ inches x 6¼ inches
FontSet in FreightText
Pages448 pages
AuthorEdward O. Wilson
Illustration24 pages of colour plates and 47 integrated black & white illustrations
Publication Date23/10/2019
Editor's Notes
 
Edward O. Wilson, one of the world’s greatest naturalists, takes us on a tour through time, from life’s earliest beginnings to the current crisis of human-driven extinction. He leads us through the natural world, explaining how species evolve, adapt and colonise to create the astonishing variety of plants and creatures we see around us. Wilson writes with passion about the beauty and science of nature – from flycatchers to great white sharks, from rainforests to deep ocean trenches – and shows us why the threat to biodiversity today is beyond the scope of anything we have known before. He identifies the crisis in countless ecosystems around the globe – coral reefs, grasslands, polar icecaps and other habitats – and presents a brilliant strategy for halting the extinction of the world’s species.
Crusading for the vanishing natural world

The Diversity of Life represented an early alarm call to environmentalists, governments and, indeed, all humanity. Wilson considers how our encroachment upon the natural sphere is accelerating the disappearance of earth’s biodiversity, placing his account against the backdrop of the planet’s most fascinating natural theatres, from the Amazonian rainforests and Australia’s coral reefs, to the Galapagos Islands and the North American woodlands. No setting is too large or too small for Wilson to be engaged by it, or for him to see and appreciate the interest and importance of the activities of its protagonists. He investigates the hunting practices of great white sharks, the predatory behaviour of jaguars and pumas, the mites that live on human foreheads and in birds’ feathers, and the microhabitat of lichens and insects housed on a Papua New Guinean weevil’s back. Having lucidly outlined the current crisis which confronts biodiversity, Wilson offers a comprehensive strategy for halting the extinctions of the world’s species. The result is a remarkable fusion of scientific authority and environmental evangelism.

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Crusading for the vanishing natural world

The Diversity of Life represented an early alarm call to environmentalists, governments and, indeed, all humanity. Wilson considers how our encroachment upon the natural sphere is accelerating the disappearance of earth’s biodiversity, placing his account against the backdrop of the planet’s most fascinating natural theatres, from the Amazonian rainforests and Australia’s coral reefs, to the Galapagos Islands and the North American woodlands. No setting is too large or too small for Wilson to be engaged by it, or for him to see and appreciate the interest and importance of the activities of its protagonists. He investigates the hunting practices of great white sharks, the predatory behaviour of jaguars and pumas, the mites that live on human foreheads and in birds’ feathers, and the microhabitat of lichens and insects housed on a Papua New Guinean weevil’s back. Having lucidly outlined the current crisis which confronts biodiversity, Wilson offers a comprehensive strategy for halting the extinctions of the world’s species. The result is a remarkable fusion of scientific authority and environmental evangelism.

2 of 6

Crusading for the vanishing natural world

The Diversity of Life represented an early alarm call to environmentalists, governments and, indeed, all humanity. Wilson considers how our encroachment upon the natural sphere is accelerating the disappearance of earth’s biodiversity, placing his account against the backdrop of the planet’s most fascinating natural theatres, from the Amazonian rainforests and Australia’s coral reefs, to the Galapagos Islands and the North American woodlands. No setting is too large or too small for Wilson to be engaged by it, or for him to see and appreciate the interest and importance of the activities of its protagonists. He investigates the hunting practices of great white sharks, the predatory behaviour of jaguars and pumas, the mites that live on human foreheads and in birds’ feathers, and the microhabitat of lichens and insects housed on a Papua New Guinean weevil’s back. Having lucidly outlined the current crisis which confronts biodiversity, Wilson offers a comprehensive strategy for halting the extinctions of the world’s species. The result is a remarkable fusion of scientific authority and environmental evangelism.

3 of 6

Crusading for the vanishing natural world

The Diversity of Life represented an early alarm call to environmentalists, governments and, indeed, all humanity. Wilson considers how our encroachment upon the natural sphere is accelerating the disappearance of earth’s biodiversity, placing his account against the backdrop of the planet’s most fascinating natural theatres, from the Amazonian rainforests and Australia’s coral reefs, to the Galapagos Islands and the North American woodlands. No setting is too large or too small for Wilson to be engaged by it, or for him to see and appreciate the interest and importance of the activities of its protagonists. He investigates the hunting practices of great white sharks, the predatory behaviour of jaguars and pumas, the mites that live on human foreheads and in birds’ feathers, and the microhabitat of lichens and insects housed on a Papua New Guinean weevil’s back. Having lucidly outlined the current crisis which confronts biodiversity, Wilson offers a comprehensive strategy for halting the extinctions of the world’s species. The result is a remarkable fusion of scientific authority and environmental evangelism.

4 of 6

Crusading for the vanishing natural world

The Diversity of Life represented an early alarm call to environmentalists, governments and, indeed, all humanity. Wilson considers how our encroachment upon the natural sphere is accelerating the disappearance of earth’s biodiversity, placing his account against the backdrop of the planet’s most fascinating natural theatres, from the Amazonian rainforests and Australia’s coral reefs, to the Galapagos Islands and the North American woodlands. No setting is too large or too small for Wilson to be engaged by it, or for him to see and appreciate the interest and importance of the activities of its protagonists. He investigates the hunting practices of great white sharks, the predatory behaviour of jaguars and pumas, the mites that live on human foreheads and in birds’ feathers, and the microhabitat of lichens and insects housed on a Papua New Guinean weevil’s back. Having lucidly outlined the current crisis which confronts biodiversity, Wilson offers a comprehensive strategy for halting the extinctions of the world’s species. The result is a remarkable fusion of scientific authority and environmental evangelism.

5 of 6

Crusading for the vanishing natural world

The Diversity of Life represented an early alarm call to environmentalists, governments and, indeed, all humanity. Wilson considers how our encroachment upon the natural sphere is accelerating the disappearance of earth’s biodiversity, placing his account against the backdrop of the planet’s most fascinating natural theatres, from the Amazonian rainforests and Australia’s coral reefs, to the Galapagos Islands and the North American woodlands. No setting is too large or too small for Wilson to be engaged by it, or for him to see and appreciate the interest and importance of the activities of its protagonists. He investigates the hunting practices of great white sharks, the predatory behaviour of jaguars and pumas, the mites that live on human foreheads and in birds’ feathers, and the microhabitat of lichens and insects housed on a Papua New Guinean weevil’s back. Having lucidly outlined the current crisis which confronts biodiversity, Wilson offers a comprehensive strategy for halting the extinctions of the world’s species. The result is a remarkable fusion of scientific authority and environmental evangelism.

6 of 6

About the Author

Edward O. Wilson is University Research Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. In his long career he has spearheaded efforts to preserve and protect the biodiversity of the planet and The Diversity of Life (1992) is now one of the most respected works on the subject. His many influential publications include On Human Nature (co-written with Bert Hölldobler, 1978), for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize; The Ants (1990); his autobiography, Naturalist (1994); The Future of Life (2002); The Social Conquest of the Earth (2012); and Genesis: The Deep Origin of Societies (2019). His awards include the National Medal of Science, the Prix de Institut de Vie, Paris, the Gold Medal of the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the American Philosophical Society. In 1995 he was named one of the 25 most influential Americans by Time magazine, and in 2000 one of the century’s 100 leading environmentalists by both Time and Audubon magazine. In 2005 Foreign Policy named him one of the world’s 100 leading intellectuals.