This is a book about a new theory of biodiversity in a geographical context. Work on this
theory has been motivated by my conviction that better theories of biodiversity are urgently
needed to inform our efforts to describe, manage, and protect it. Understanding biodiversity
and its origin, maintenance, and loss on Earth is an issue of profound significance to the
future of humanity and life as we know it. In recent years, international attention to
biodiversity issues has been growing. In my experience, however, too few people, including …