Inventing Global Ecology is many things in one: the story of an American researcher’s experiences in India and his country; a fascinating survey of biodiversity conservation (whose fortunes in India have been mixed); a thoroughly researched and documented study of the policies, prospects, and pragmatics of ecological and ethical decisions that ought to determine our future. It casts the U.S. in roles seldom seen—as partner and proprietor of global environmental projects. Lewis’ book carries amply relevant and analytical data besides a fairly detailed chapter on an Indo-U.S. initiative that has borne excellent results—the special relationship in human and scientific terms that developed through the 1950s and 60s between Dillon Ripley (of the Smithsonian Institution) and Salim Ali (of the Bombay Natural History Society). Ethnographic fieldwork and oral history, as well as traditional archival research, combine to give Inventing Global Ecology an edge, both general readers and specialists will appreciate.
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