Product Description

Over the last 530 million years there have been five mass extinctions of species-the last,65 million years ago,when the dinosaurs disappeared.The biodiversity of our planet may now be on the verge,Leakey and Lewin believe,of a sixth extinction,caused this time by the relentless expansion and limitless appetites of human beings. The new science of 'biodiversity',presented clearly and cogently by Leakey and Lewin,combines insights from palaeontology,biology,ecology and even economics.It integrates the role of Darwenian evolution with the increasingly recognised importance of external and unpredictable forces.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #163954 in Books
• Published on: 1996-11-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author
Richard Leakey, the son of leading paleoanthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey, was Director of the National Museums of Kenya for twenty years and more recently has served his country in a more political role as Director of the Wildlife Service. He made the important discovery of the 'Turkana Boy', a virtually complete skeleton, and his popular books include Origins, The People of the Lake and The Making of Mankind. Sean Barrett narrated the BBC Modern History series, People's Century and appeared in television productions of Twelfth Night and Father Ted.

Customer Reviews

Thought provoking and conversation generating
A highly readable account which begins with Earth history and the early organisms inhabiting it. Further chapters go on to discuss the evolution of prokaryotes and eukaryotes and the possible causes of extinction.

I found chapter six to be particularly interesting. It asks whether we are the pinnacle of evolution or not and ponders the question of what could have been if chordates had not arisen in the cambrian explosion. This chapter also considers the changes to the African vegetation due to the creation of the Rift valley and the probable consequent evolution of humans.

The remainder of the book covers such issues as the value of biodiversity, general ecological theories and human impact in the past. The book reaches a climax in the final chapters where it brings together the themes running through it and concludes with a discussion of the possibility of a sixth extinction and the fact that this will be due to our impact on the planet.

This book is something to be read carefully. It is thought provoking and conversation generating. It has created in me, a desire to read further on evolution and biodiversity.

It was O.K.
I had to read this book as an assignment for biology. I thought that it was very thought provoking, but not for someone in high school. Some parts were hard to understand, and confusing. I did find it some what amusing though.