Fragile Dominion: Complexity and the Commons

Simon A Levin

ISBN 10: 0738201111 / ISBN 13: 9780738201115

Published by INGRAM PUBLISHER SERVICES US, 1999

About this Item

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.

Seller Inventory # CIN0738201111G

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fragile Dominion: Complexity and the Commons
• Publisher: INGRAM PUBLISHER SERVICES US
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738201111
• ISBN 13: 9780738201115
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

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 Moffett Professor of Biology at Princeton University and Founding Director of the Princeton Environmental Institute. He is Chairman of the Board of the Beijer Institute and 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 more than 25 books on ecology, biology, and biodiversity.