Promotional Information

Finally we have an accessible, highly integrated account of the environment: wise rather than clever, responsible rather than glib, comprehensive rather than confused, comprehensible rather than new. Smil's unique biospheric narrative, devoid of hype and patriotism, transcends academic apartheid. This immensely learned story of the past history and current state of the third planet is destined to become required reading for anyone who seeks the environmental context for human activity. -- Lynn Margulis, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and recipient of the National Medal of Science This extremely comprehensive book is more than an encyclopedia. It presents integrative, selective, and good quality information with a point of view informed by up-to-date sources and spanning a dazzling array of fields. I doubt anyone other than Vaclav Smil could have produced such a work. -- Martin Hoffert, Professor of Physcis, New York University Vaclav Smil's scholarship on biospherics is unique. Few have the necessary interdisciplinary background to attempt a work of this nature. Smil has wisely selected from the staggering amount of material pertinent to this topic and organized his presentation in a thoughtful way. I know of no comparable work where the mastery of the technological, scientific, and historical material relevant to the subject is so seamlessly presented. -- John Katzenberger, Director, Aspen Global Change Institute The book's magisterial coverage, richness of detail, and mastery of the most recent literature are its strengths. -- David Schwartzman, Department of Biology, Howard University

About the Author

Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of forty books, including Energy and Civilization, published by the MIT Press. In 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers. In 2013 Bill Gates wrote on his website that "there is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil."

Reviews

A lovely book, in both content and execution.—Science Books & Films

A superior, comprehensive survey.—Booklist

The breadth of discussion is remarkable...The Earth's Biosphere is unconventional.—Annals of the Association of American Geographers

... written by an author who does not allow facts to be obscured or overshadowed by politics.—The New York Review of Books