Additional information
by Ernest Small (Author)
In Defense of the World's Most Despised Species examines the psychological motivations that lead people to make judgments about the attractiveness of species, noting the overwhelming importance of visual cues. It describes in considerable detail the physical and behavioral traits of species that lead us to love or hate them.
Author Biography
Dr. Ernest Small received a doctorate from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1969. He has since been employed with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the country's national department of agriculture, where he presently holds the status of Principal Research Scientist. He specializes on the evolution and classification of economically important plants, dealing particularly with food, forage, biodiversity, and medicinal species. The species Trigonella smallii (Small's sweetclover) was named in his honor, and he himself has named dozens of new species. He is the author of 15 previous books, six of which received or were nominated for major awards. He has also authored over 400 scientific publications, mostly on economically important plants. Dr. Small's career has included dozens of appearances as an expert witness in court cases, acting as an adviser to national governments, presenting numerous invited university and professional association lectures, participating in international societies and committees, journal editing, and media interviews. He has been an adjunct professor at numerous universities, and continues to supervise doctoral candidates. Dr. Small has received several professional honors, including: election as a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London; the G.M. Cooley Prize of the American Association of Plant Taxonomists for work on the marijuana plant; the Agcellence Award for distinguished contributions to agriculture; the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal for contributions to science; the George Lawson Medal, the most prestigious award of the Canadian Botanical Association, for lifetime contributions to botany; the Lane Anderson Award, a $10,000.00 prize for science popularization; the Industry Leadership Award of the Canadian Hemp Trade Association (subsequently renamed in his honor); the Outstanding Paper in Plant Genetic Resources Award of the Crop Science Society of America; and appointment to the Order of Canada, the nation's highest recognition of achievements.
