Richard Krooth, PhD, University of California, Santa Cruz, has much practical experience in issues invoked in this book, having worked for environmental preservation his entire adult life. Author of over a dozen books on history and nature, a rare scholar with a Ph.D. and J.D., he writes about his life travels and library discoveries. This volume illustrates his concerns for humanity and all living things, as well as his wide-ranging research and use of first-hand reports and observations, attempting to put the current planetary crisis into the context of its historical setting.