Ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan provides 26 essays that go beyond mere observations of wildlife but offer theories of links between cultural and biological diversity. He champions a shift away from the preservation efforts of the mainstream environmental movement, rejecting the separateness of ecological preserves that exclude humans. Nabhan argues that biodviersity thrives best in the presence of an involved, participatory culture, and his argument is bolstered by research and years of field experiecne.