The covers sre bumped at the edges, and there is and ownership signature on the front end paper, else a clean, unmarked and solid copy. xii 250 pages, indexed. " 'Fragile Dominion' is part of a series of books based based on the Stanislaw M. Ullam Lectures given annuallly at the Santa Fe Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico" (copyright page) " 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." (Publisher's blurb) "CONTENTS: 1. Biodiversity and Our lives: A Cautionary Tale 2. The Nature of Environment 3. Six Fundamental Questions 4. Patterns in Nature 5. Ecological Assembly 6. The Evolution of Biodiversity 7. On Form and Function 8. The Ontogeny and Evolution of Ecosystems 9. Where Do We Go from Here? Complexity and the Commons.