Meyer presents a to-the-point, X-ray-explicit diagnosis of the state of the biosphere, and the prognosis is not good. So pervasive is humankind, he argues, instead of natural selection we now have human selection. Other species must adapt to our climate-changing presence, as have the common rat and the white-tailed deer, or face extinction. Hundreds of thousands of organisms, including such splendid animals as the African elephant and the giant panda, have become "relic species" as they struggle to maintain their foothold in environments radically altered by human development. The species we choose to protect for economic or aesthetic reasons are relegated to "boutique populations" in bioreserves, which are, in truth, the "-antithesis of the wild." Meyer outlines the human-spun "web of threats" to biodiversity and warns not of an end of life but of biodiversity, resulting in "a peculiarly homogenized assemblage" of human-adapted organisms. Brisk and shocking, Meyer's grim vision is a snap to attention. We must acquire an ecological perspective if we hope to save any remnant of life's many--splendored bounty. Donna Seaman
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