Preserving Eden

In its 40th year, the Nature Conservancy has 600,000 members, assets of $620 million and an impressive record of conservation achievement. Grove, an editor at National Geographic , ascribes the group's success to its ability to compromise with business, environmental and governmental interests. Conservancy personnel, he shows, are expert in many functions, whether engineering land deals, enticing large gifts from corporations or devising tax shelters for wealthy donors. Grove describes threatened wildlife areas from Maine to Alaska, and in Latin America and the Caribbean as well, that have been rescued by Conservancy purchase. Krasemann's photographs of these regions are magnificent, and serve to enhance this valuable tour of nature, which emphasizes the importance of preserving entire habitats. (May)