Even to this day, no native Australian animal species and only one plant species-the macadamia nut-have proved suitable for domestication. There still are no domestic kangaroos.

I decided that now is the time to start doing the things that really interest me and I find important. It was in the 10 years of the MacArthur grant that I began working on my first book... and I began putting more work into environmental history.

With the MacArthur grant, I realized that people have high expectations of me, that they were placing me in this group of achievers. I compared what Id actually achieved in my life with what I would like to achieve and what other people have achieved, and I found that comparison depressing.

What did the last Easter Islander say as he chopped down the last tree? The Easter Islanders didnt have anthropologists.

One person making a wrong decision affects the whole country.

Biology is the science. Evolution is the concept that makes biology unique.

Much of human history has consisted of unequal conflicts between the haves and the have-nots.