Choice Review

O'Brien (Pacific Lutheran Univ.) successfully combines a passionate religious conviction with an informed scientific analysis, focused on the interconnectedness of all living things, in order to address the moral challenge of biodiversity. One virtue of his book is its resistance to oversimplification. He understands the different (or scalar) dimensions of biodiversity (from the local to the global) and suggests different appropriate moral responses to them. At the heart of his moral position, informed by a number of contemporary Christian moral philosophers, is the notion of the sacramentality of nature (not to be confused with a belief that nature is sacred), i.e., its ability to reflect the greatness of God. Though he appears to struggle a bit to make the case for the intrinsic value of biodiversity, O'Brien's commitment to avoid oversimplifying keeps his argument balanced and sensitive to the complexity of the issue, including the reality that predation (and death) are intrinsic to biodiversity. His book also includes a valuable reflection on issues of racial justice in addressing global ecological issues. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. F. G. Kirkpatrick Trinity College (CT)