The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment - Softcover

In humanity's more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. This title traces the interplay between environmental change and genetic and cultural evolution since the dawn of humanity.

"No other scientific couple could produce a book of this brilliance on where we came from and where we're going. The Ehrlichs, who have been at the cutting edge of the science, have interwoven evolutionary history and our environmental dilemma into a compelling and vital story."--John P. Holdren "Director, The Woods Hole Research Center "

"This is a brilliant and fascinating account of how we became the planet's ruling species and now the major force determining the future of evolution. The Ehrlichs' broad perspective and lucid prose bring fresh understanding to what's going on in the world today. Everyone should read this book."--Peter H. Raven "President, Missouri Botanical Garden "

"Buy this for your next seminar class.... or be inspired and make an undergraduate course out of it...Yes, you've read some of this before, but not all of it, and not told so well, or with such passion and humor."--Stuart Pimm "Trends in Ecology and Evolution "

"This sparkling book is a great guide to what's essential about humans, the world, and how they affect each other. Along the way, you'll pick up delicious tidbits such as what Mussolini's basic problem was, and why we are so sure that tiny sequoia seeds grow into 300-foot sequoia trees even though no one has ever seen it happen."--Jared Diamond "Professor of Geography at UCLA and author of Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel "

"This is a grand tour of the current state of ecological science, and a tour de force of observation, insight, and suggestion."--Bill McKibben "author of The Bill McKibben Reader "

"No one has more authority to write on these matters than the husband-and-wife team of Stanford biologists Paul and Anne Ehrlich. For decades now they have been documenting and warning of humans' effects on the environment. Their new book, The Dominant Animal, continues their chronicle of the damage we have done to our home.... This is an important book, with much information and some really stimulating ideas. We need to build on these ideas, because the world is in an environmental mess and things are not getting better."--The Washington Post

"[The Ehrlichs] argue clearly and convincingly ... this fascinating, inspiring book [deserves a] wide audience."--Publishers Weekly

"While the world suffers from natural disasters, inflated energy costs, and unsustainable consumption patterns, the Ehrlichs make hopeful suggestions for sustainability and reduced vulnerability."--Library Journal

"Alpha male and female of contemporary science ... the Ehrlichs convey a message at once chilling and hopeful.... The big ideas and the tenor of The Dominant Animal are right on. The book rejects starry eyed insistence on new technology as humankind's savior in favor of socially responsible, if admittedly difficult-to-enact, prescriptions."--SEED Magazine

"Their latest book, The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment, continues to drum home the message that humans are on a collision course with ecological catastrophe. But what's new and notable is the dual biological and cultural lens the Ehrlichs use to diagnose the underlying cause of our predicament... the book left me wanting more--hungry for revolutionary new insights whose very existence would shine the right way forward. If we'd listened to Ehrlich 40 years ago, perhaps we'd already be on that path."--Audubon