In twenty short books, Penguin Classics brings you the ideas that have changed the way we think and talk about the living Earth. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet, and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration. Their words have endured through the decades, becoming the classics of a movement. Together, these books show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world. This book brings together some of Edward O. Wilson's most profound and significant writings on the rich diversity of life on Earth, our place in it, and our obligation to conserve the planet's fragile ecosystems.