Foreword / by Carl Safina
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction. What Melville Got Wrong about Whales
In the Beginning: Two Fish Tales
A Brief History of Federal Wildlife Conservation Efforts
Biodiversity and Why It Matters
Rachel Carson, the Recognition of Pervasive Threats to Biodiversity, and the Birth of the Modern Environmental Movement
Wildlife Refuges: A Legacy of Theodore Roosevelt
Three Threats to Biodiversity in the Modern Age: Climate Change, Plastics, and Commerce
In Praise of Spineless Creatures
An Endangered Act?
The Endangered Species Act's Most Unexpected Ally
The Inconvenient Truth of Unintended Consequences
Looking to Aldo Leopold for Solutions
Turning Rare Species into Assets
Epilogue.