Review by Choice Review
Starting with an insult aimed at scientists of all types ("scientific reductionism, the practice I liken to the drilling of ever deeper holes"), Smil (Univ. of Manitoba) then proceeds to describe the biosphere by drawing heavily, but not exclusively, from review articles and books aimed at general readers. His excuse is that the topic is so broad that dilettantism is the only way to understand it. He skims across graphs and diagrams that summarize decades of the detailed "reductionist" studies he derides, all while providing no insights, no grand synthesis, no powerful biospheric principle that justifies either the insults or the book. Ecologists have dealt with epiphenomena and emergent principles related to the scale of investigation for decades. No mention is made of their work. The bibliography contains more than 1,100 citations, but those from ecological studies are painfully scarce. This book serves as a summary of the scientific icons of the whole Earth age while remaining far short of its stated goal of providing "an integrated, multidisciplinary study that informs by the breadth of its synthesis." ^BSumming Up: Optional. General readers. G. Stevens formerly, University of New Mexico
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Smil, in a presentation marked by balance and clarity, synthesizes the field of science dealing with the biosphere. It is an interdisciplinary one, combining organic chemistry, geology, solar physics, microbiology, zoology, and more. Whatever characteristics the biosphere displays on a global scale depend on living matter's fundamental chemistry, so Smil diagrams the structural backbone of cells--molecules such as cellulose or DNA. Moving next through types of metabolism, such as the ATP cycle, Smil explains the resultant chemical products and how they become fixed or cycled through the ground, water, or atmosphere. Addressing concerns about human influences on the biosphere, Smil describes them, but he is a scientist to the core (at the University of Manitoba) and is hesitant to proclaim doom as the certain outcome. That scientific humility only enhances Smil's work. A superior, comprehensive survey. --Gilbert Taylor
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
