The author is knowledgeable and the book is well written. The topic is one-dimensional in that the basic concept is that humans are causing extinction of many species. He covers the magnitude of the problem, the causes, and the potential solutions. I appreciate and concur with his concerns. I believe that ongoing and future efforts at conservation of biodiversity will have beneficial effects but am skeptical that economic and developmental forces will be held in check. I suspect that we are more similar to a bacteria that grows until it runs out of food. ( )

This is mostly a book about the problems of decreased biodiversity, so it's a very sad read. ( )

A strange book. A kind of cry of anguish and plea for sanity.

In my humble unsolicited opinion the problem and major shortcoming of environmentalists is that instead of advocating reasonable self-preservation they go on an on about the wonders of nature. They must know, or at least the realistic among them, that only a tiny fraction of people care about losing species, destroying natural habitats and making their kids' heritage so much poorer. On the other hand everyone cares about their standard of living and there are plenty of good conservationist arguments that could take advantage of that self-interest.

Alas, this book like all others I've read too often strays from this route and goes down the "isn't nature beautiful" dead-end. It is beautiful but no one cares and sadly this is not helping. ( )

For a book published in 2002, it is good to see how much that was written about has come to pass; improved understanding of the environment, a desire to think big in terms of conservation areas, and looking at the biodiversity of regions.

That said there are areas that have not progressed. Along with animal extinctions, loss of rainforest, and other environmental disasters that have happened around the world.

The solutions that he proposes in the final chapter are still valid, and any government should look at implementing these given how business and corporations have managed to bring the world the the edge of the abyss, and still want more concessions. ( )

I didn’t want to pass the opportunity to review a book I have read and that gave me more food for thought in an increasing understanding of how important is the issue treated on this book.

If you are familiar with Edward O. Wilson’s work, you don’t need much to understand its subject matter, for the title says it all: The Future of Life. And if you are aware of the ongoing pressure we humans have been putting against life’s continuation on this planet, this book will just be another reminder of how big a blow ours have been.

Published in 2003, the book hasn’t aged too well. Not that it contains incorrect information, it’s just that the many let’s say less optimistic predictions haven’t fared well with the accelerating downward trend the world has followed. So it’s not E. O. Wilson’s fault that we haven’t taken heed of his advice and that we, as a whole, continued to act blindly to warnings such as these.

If you are acquainted with E. O. Wilson’s work and you are pondering about reading this book, maybe you can devote your time to more recent publications, for maybe your time will be better spent. If you are new to the author, don’t waste your time here, and choose some other of his best known works, for this is not his best. In any case, if you enjoy E. O. Wilson’s writing style and the clear way he presents his subject matter, this book won’t weigh you down. ( )