Reviews

An astrobiologist with NASA who has written numerous books and articles about ancient mass-extinction events, Ward (paleontology, Univ. of Washington, Seattle; Life as We Do Not Know It) presents evidence suggesting that some of the mass extinctions (i.e., die-offs of at least 50 percent of plant and animal life) of the distant past were the result of catastrophic global warming. In understandable language, he explains the science and draws a picture of what our world might look like after runaway global warming. His book gives readers a glimpse into the life of a scientist and how he works to collect evidence and fit it into the existing scientific worldview. Most important, it offers a look at how a scientific theory catches on, then changes as other evidence comes forth. There is also a 19-page bibliography for further reading on the topic. Although the technical level of the content may be beyond high school students, this excellent book is highly recommended for college and university libraries and public libraries with environmental science or global-change collections. [Ward has previously presented this argument in Science.--Ed.]--Betty Galbraith, Washington State Univ. Science & Engineering Lib., Pullman Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

For RARE EARTH: "A stellar example of clear writing . . ."--American Scientist