Fragile Dominion: Complexity and the Commons (Stanislaw M. Ulam Lecture Series)

Simon A. Levin

ISBN 10: 0738201111 / ISBN 13: 9780738201115

Published by Perseus Books/Helix Books, Reading MA, 1999

About this Item

250 pp + Index. red boards with black cloth. Text has occasional margin lined notes with short black lines. There is no hi-liting or other misfortune.

Seller Inventory # 1722909

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fragile Dominion: Complexity and the Commons (Stanislaw M. Ulam Lecture Series)
• Publisher: Perseus Books/Helix Books, Reading MA
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738201111
• ISBN 13: 9780738201115
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good +

About this title

Synopsis

How the science of complexity can help save the natural world from collapse.. We all know that our planet is losing its biological diversity at an alarming rate, with frightening implications for our future. But when does an ecosystem hit the breaking point? In this important book, Princeton biologist Simon Levin offers general readers the first look at how the new science of complexity can help to solve our looming ecological crisis. Levin argues that our biosphere is the classic embodiment of what scientists call complex adaptive systems. By exploring how such systems work, we can determine how they might fail: How much loss can an ecosystem bear before it starts to collapse? How resilient are these systems? Do they in fact hover at the edge of chaos? A deeply original work on one of the most pressing issues of our time, Fragile Dominion is a powerful appeal to understand and protect the global commons.

About the Author

Simon Levin is the Moffett Professor of Biology at Princeton University, and Director of the Princeton Environmental Institute. He is the recipient of many prestigious academic awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the MacArthur Award of the Ecological Society of America. He is the author or editor of over 25 books on ecology, biology, and biodiversity.