Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 302 pages
- Published by: Knopf
- Edition: 1st Edition February 14, 1995
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0679420029
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0679420026
-
Book Dimensions:
8.7 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
- Weighs: 1.2 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
In Oklahoma, a highway to improve access to a hospital that serves poor people was delayed for more than four years to protect a beetle. In enforcing the Endangered Species Act, do we put insects above human needs? Mann and Plummer, coauthors of The Aspirin Wars, argue that trying to save every species is unethical and impractical, that we have to make choices. They cite case histories of ecological conflict: the snail darter in Tennessee, the Karner Blue butterfly in New York and Wisconsin, a bird habitat threatened by home-building in Texas. When the act passed in 1973, few people?least of all, Congress, the authors say?understood its ramifications, especially the cost. The act is up for renewal this year. Mann and Plummer offer suggestions for making it more practical in this provocative, timely and reasonable study.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A beetle puts a stranglehold on the construction of a highway that would have provided Native Americans reasonable access to a hospital; a minnow almost stops a dam from being built. Mann and Plummer, who also collaborated on The Aspirin Wars (LJ 10/1/91), highlight these and other examples in their discussion of the difficult choices that must be made with increasing frequency between human requirements and the preservation of biodiversity. The writing is clear and entertaining, and the authors' key argument-that the Endangered Species Act doesn't allow for enough flexibility based on values-is compelling, cogent, and highly controversial. Included are great summaries of the concepts of island biogeography and species, the history of the Endangered Species Act, and current thinking on the rate of extinction. Highly recommended. [Other recent books on the excesses of environmentalism include Greg Easterbrook's A Moment on the Earth (LJ 2/1/95) and Charles T. Rubin's The Green Crusade (LJ 2/15/94).-Ed.]-Lynn C. Badger, Univ. of Florida Lib., Gainesvill.
--Lynn C. Badger, Univ. of Florida Lib., GainesvilleCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Reader ReviewsI can't remember where I first saw this book reviewed and recommended, but I do remember that I couldn't check it out in the school library because one of the Range Science professors put it on reserve for his class. That intrigued me enough to just buy it. I found the first 3/4 of the book fascinating as it described a variety of encounters between human activity and species decline. Mann makes a good case that consistency requires the act and its defenders to defend squirmy species with the same fervor as they defend the "cute and cuddly" species. He also points out that some of man's activities which appear benign or even helpful (such as fire suppression) actually harm species who thrive in areas damaged by natural devastation (such as fires and storms). Finally, he relates several tales where species protection interferes with humanitarian activities (such as building roads on native american reservations between the remote areas and the centralized hospital). However, despite all of the story telling and fact gathering, he chickens out in his recommendations. Throughout the book, he foreshadows a dramatic new proposal, but then fails to deliver. He makes a short call for reform and a more thoughtful process - "more of the same, only better." I would recommend the book for the anecdotes, but don't expect a world-shaking ending.
Search for books at
