Introduction -- Charles Darwin and the implications of evolution St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals -- Environmentalism gaining momentum: Rachel Carson and 'Silent sping' Denis Hayes and Earth Day -- Planting trees with Wangari Maathai -- In defense of rain forests: Chico Mendes and Bruno Manser Al Gore's fight for the environment -- The strong men of environmentalism: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steven Seagal Movie stars and activism -- Arne Naess and 'Deep ecology' -- Vandana Shiva and traditional agriculture -- Ian Kiernan, Rossano Ercolini, and Bea Johnson Pioneers of ecological economics -- The Greenpeace story Forerunners of animal advocacy Spokesmen for animals: Peter Singer, Richard Ryder, and Tom Regan -- Henry Spira, the hero of animal advocacy -- Animal advocates from Central Europe -- Albert Schweitzer: The man who loved all living beings Talking animals: The capacity of animal minds -- Primatologists Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Biruté Galdikas Ingrid -- Newkirk, Alex Pacheco, and PETA -- John Muir and Yosemite -- Aldo Leopold, the founding father of nature conservation -- James Lovelock and the Gaia-hypothesis -- Their symbol: The giant panda -- Scientists involved in conservation and environmentalism -- Gerald Durrell: How an amateur naturalist developed into a great conservationist Farley Mowat never cried wolf -- David Attenborough, the grand old man of natural history films Jacques-Yves Cousteau: Under the spell of the sea -- Paul Watson, the daredevil of conservation -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgements List of illustrations.