The Value of Species
"This pithy little book fills an important niche in motivating further discourse toward understanding human agency over the environment." —Oswald Schmitz, Oastler Professor, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies"Eloquent, succinct, and compelling, Edward McCord's book shows brilliantly why we should all care about other species, not just for their sake, but for ours." —Paul R. Ehrlich, author of The Dominant Animal"Definitely the sort of book I would use at a graduate discussion seminar... A thought-provoking essay that provides new perspectives on that age old question for us humans - what does the rest of the world matter to us." —Sandra Knapp,Oryx"This fine meditation on the reasons that human society -- all too driven by immediate economic interests -- should respect the wonder and mystery of nature and preserve species into the future makes an important contribution to environmental virtue ethics." —Mark Sagoff, Director, Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, George Mason University“This is a remarkable book at the intersection of philosophy, ethics, and biology and addresses why we should care from the perspective of human values in an arresting and effective way……wonderfully written and accessible to any educated reader.” —Thomas E. Lovejoy, University Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy, George Mason University"A valuable resource for all audiences, but an essential read for those interested in environmental sciences." —Choice"Author Edward L. McCord’s main argument for protecting all species on  this planet—without regard to their usefulness for us—is that saving  species is a question of realizing (in both senses of this word) what it  means to be a human being.... [His] well-written book is a highly  recommendable contribution to the discourse on the value of species. It  provides inspiring ideas, because the author was willing to travel  beyond the current mainstream of the conservation discourse." —Kurt Jax,BioScience"Brilliant and haunting."--Poughkeepsie Journal