Harvard Professor and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward Wilson takes readers through time--tracing the processes that create new species, the five cataclysmic events that have disrupted evolution over the past 600 million years, and how humans are destroying diversity at a projected rate of 20 percent over the next 30 years. "In the Amazon Basin the greatest violence sometimes begins as a flicker of light beyond the horizon. There in the perfect bowl of the night sky, untouched by light from any human source, a thunderstorm sends its premonitory signal and begins a slow journey to the observer, who thinks: the world is about to change." Watching from the edge of the Brazilian rain forest, witness to the sort of violence nature visits upon its creatures, Edward O. Wilson reflects on the crucible of evolution, and so begins his remarkable account of how the living world became diverse and how humans are destroying that diversity. Wilson, internationally regarded as the dean of biodiversity studies, conducts us on a tour through time, traces the processes that create new species in bursts of adaptive radiation, and points out the cataclysmic events that have disrupted evolution and diminished global diversity over the past 600 million years. The five enormous natural blows to the planet (such as meteorite strikes and climatic changes) required 10 to 100 million years of evolutionary repair. The sixth great spasm of extinction on earth--caused this time entirely by humans--may be the one that breaks the crucible of life. Wilson identifies this crisis in countless ecosystems around the globe: coral reefs, grasslands, rain forests, and other natural habitats. Drawing on a variety of examples such as the decline of bird populations in the United States, the extinction of many species of freshwater fish in Africa and Asia, and the rapid disappearance of flora and fauna as the rain forests are cut down, he poignantly describes the death throes of the living worlds diversity--projected to decline as much as 20 percent by the year 2020. All evidence marshaled here resonates through Wilson's tightly reasoned call for a spirit of stewardship over the worlds biological wealth. He makes a plea for specific actions that will enhance rather than diminish not just diversity but the quality of life on earth. Cutting through the tangle of environmental issues that often obscure the real concern, Wilson maintains that the era of confrontation between forces for the preservation of nature and those for economic development is over; he convincingly drives home the point that both aims can, and must, be integrated. Unparalleled in its range and depth, Wilson's masterwork is essential reading for those who care about preserving the worlds biological variety and ensuring our planets health.

爱德华·威尔逊（ Edward O. Wilson ）

◎ 最具文采的科学家

◎ 最博学多识的作家

◎ “最后的博物学家”

生于1929 年，当今美国生物学界的翘楚，美国国家科学院院士，世界上最有影响力的科学家之一。“生物社会学”之父，“生物多样性”概念提出者。目前是哈佛 大学比较动物学博物馆昆虫馆的名誉馆长兼荣誉研究教授。

先后获得100 多个国际性奖项，包括美国的国家科学奖、瑞典皇家科学院颁发的克拉福德奖、日本的国际生物奖。 1996 年，被《时代》杂志评为对当代美国影响最大的 25 位美国人之一。他热心投身环保事业，曾获世界自然基金会颁发的金质奖章、美国奥杜邦学会颁发的奥杜邦奖章等。

威尔逊非常擅长著述，文笔优美，有 30 余部著作，先后以《论人性》和《蚂蚁》两度获得普利策奖。