Global Ecology by Colin Tudge
	(Illus.) Oxford University Press 1991 ix+ 173pp. 0-19-520904-4 Glossary; Index YA-T, GA **

This splendid overview of all the major phenomena, concepts, and theories of ecology is couched in simple language--minus the equations, statistics, and complex details that tend to confuse the average reader. Thus, it is an ideal choice for nonscience majors from high school upwards and for environmentally concerned, but untrained, adults. Professionals and teachers at any level will find the nontechnical explanations and lucid discussions very useful in conveying ecological viewpoints to the public or students. The illustrations favor relevancy over artistry. For example, a series of rather childlike cartoon diagrams focuses on the relationship between organisms, rather than on what they look like. The dominant theme of the book is the fragile nature of the survival of species, subject to boom, bust, and other vagaries. It ends with the dramatic way that agriculture and other human activity alter and accelerate ecological trends worldwide, with possibly disastrous results.

--Reviewed by A . Donald Caven in Science Books and Films, 28/2 (March 1992), p. 42.