The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment - Hardcover

"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)

"...The Dominant Animal tells the story of how mankind came to dominate nearly every inch of the earth. [It] spans the entire history of the world, weaving both cultural and biological evolution into the ambitious narrative. At its core are timely questions we would all do well to consider: Is it in our best interest to dominate Earth? Are we creating a future we want to live in?" (Plenty Magazine)

"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)

"Covering a vast swathe of disciplines, from genetics, evolution and ecology to climatology, economics and global politics, the book almost reads like a primer for the concerned citizen.... This marvellous compendium should be required reading." (New Scientist)

"The Ehrlichs, in The Dominant Animal, cover an enormous amount of scientific ground in looking at both the big picture in terms of environmental dangers and challenges while also offering detailed explanations of how humans have evolved, both genetically and culturally, within our environment. The book relates precise science in easily understandable terms." (Palo Alto Weekly)

"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)

"One of the essential books of 2008.... The Ehrlichs walk you through a basic course in evolution and genetics before moving into a cultural evolution and its devastating impact on ecosystems, worldwide." (Nuvo Weekly)