Tropical biologist and entomologist James L. Castner has made more than 50 trips to South America, most of them to live and work in the Amazon Basin. Who then is better qualified to present the wonders and mysteries of this endangered paradise? Beginning with Surviving in the Rain Forest, he introduces us to the amazing biodiversity of life found here. River Life takes us on a tour of the Amazon, the world's largest river. Layers of Life invites us to look up into the treetops, while Partners and Rivals focuses on the unique relationships that help the forest creatures survive. Finally, Castner looks to the human inhabitants of the region -- in Native Peoples, to the Indians who have lived in the Amazon Basin for thousands of years and in Rainforest Researchers, to the scientists who have come to study the region in order to better protect it.