{"product_id":"sustaining-life-eric-chivian-9780195175097","title":"Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity","description":"The Earth's biodiversity-the rich variety of life on our planet-is disappearing at an alarming rate. And while many books have focused on the expected ecological consequences, or on the aesthetic, ethical, sociological, or economic dimensions of this loss, \u003cem\u003eSustaining Life\u003c\/em\u003e is the first book to examine the full range of potential threats that diminishing biodiversity poses to human health. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Edited and written by Harvard Medical School physicians Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein, along with more than 100 leading scientists who contributed to writing and reviewing the book, \u003cem\u003eSustaining Life\u003c\/em\u003e presents a comprehensive--and sobering--view of how human medicines, biomedical research, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, and the production of food, both on land and in the oceans, depend on biodiversity. The book's ten chapters cover everything from what biodiversity is and how human activity threatens it to how we as individuals can help conserve the world's richly varied biota. Seven groups of organisms, some of the most endangered on Earth, provide detailed case studies to illustrate the contributions they have already made to human medicine, and those they are expected to make if we do not drive them to extinction. Drawing on the latest research, but written in language a general reader can easily follow, \u003cem\u003eSustaining Life\u003c\/em\u003e argues that we can no longer see ourselves as separate from the natural world, nor assume that we will not be harmed by its alteration. Our health, as the authors so vividly show, depends on the health of other species and on the vitality of natural ecosystems. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e With a foreword by E.O. Wilson and a prologue by Kofi Annan, and more than 200 poignant color illustrations, \u003cem\u003eSustaining Life\u003c\/em\u003e contributes essential perspective to the debate over how humans affect biodiversity and a compelling demonstration of the human health costs. It is the winner of the Gerald L. Young Book Award in Human Ecology Best Sci-Tech Books of 2008 for Biology by Gregg Sapp of \u003cem\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Eric Chivian\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0195175093\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780195175097\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/02\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 568\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 4.69lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 11.20h x 8.68w x 1.41d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/15\/2008 pg. 105\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/15\/2008 pg. 10\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLJ Best Sci-Tech Books\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2009 pg. 30\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eScience\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/20\/2009 pg. 1562\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2009","brand":"Eric Chivian","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44054652911871,"sku":"9780195175097","price":58.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_6545b7d6-10e0-4621-a890-fbee35e3fcb5.jpg?v=1685031201","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/sustaining-life-eric-chivian-9780195175097","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}