Book excerpt: The Essays In This Book Deal With Many Facets Of The Natural World And The World Of Humans, And How The Two Impinge On Each Other. The Author`S Detailed Studies Of Hunting And Gathering Communities Led Him To Controversially Champion Traditional Methods Of Conserving Nature. The Merits Of State-Sponsored Conservation Initiatives Are Weighed Up In His Work, As Is Planned `Development`. He Argues Passionately Against Directing Energy, Water And Raw Materials Towards Intensive Agriculture And Urban Development At At The Cost Of The Rural Poor. He Calls For Radical Changes In The Indian Polity So That People Are Not Denied Basic Information And Therefore Prevented From Participating In Development Issues. These Essays Stimulate And Provoke Us To Think For Ourselves About The Natural World And Our Relationship With It, Urging Us To Take A Hand In Shaping It.