Biosphere origin and evolution /

The contents of this dense volume are mainly derived from a Russian Academy of Sciences research program of the same name, culminating in a conference held in Novosibirsk in 2005. The contributors, mostly Russian, attempt an integrated approach to the origin and development of the biosphere, and thus represent many research disciplines. Dobretsov (Russian Academy of Sciences) and colleagues have compiled papers by microbiologists, chemists, geologists, paleobiologists, geneticists, and archaeologists. The book introduces novel theoretical frameworks and new data in many areas, but the contributions are uneven in their clarity and succinctness. Factors complicating the prose include the authors' varying familiarity with English and predilection for the invention of new terminology. The first five parts address major phenomena and are more successful as an integrated whole, but the last part, "Biosphere and Human Being," seems tacked on. It consists of worthwhile but more narrowly focused contributions about Central Asian human haplotypes and archaeology, and the evolution of wheat. One startling chapter, by the American Richard Hoover of NASA, presents evidence for indigenous fossil microorganisms in carbonaceous meteorites that is more convincing than the famous 1996 Allan Hills 84001 meteorite announcement. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and researchers/faculty. W. L. Cressler III West Chester University of Pennsylvania