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James Lovelock

Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth Paperback – 28 Sept. 2000

by James Lovelock (Author)

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There is a newer edition of this item:

Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (Oxford Landmark Science)
£8.99
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In this classic work that continues to inspire its many readers, Jim Lovelock puts forward his idea that life on earth functions as a single organism. Written for non-scientists, Gaia is a journey through time and space in search of evidence with which to support a new and radically different model of our planet. In contrast to conventional belief that living matter is passive in the face of threats to its existence, the book explores the hypothesis that the earth's living matter air, ocean, and land surfaces forms a complex system that has the capacity to keep the Earth a fit place for life.

Since Gaia was first published, many of Jim Lovelock's predictions have come true and his theory has become a hotly argued topic in scientific circles. In a new Preface to this reissued title, he outlines his present state of the debate.

ISBN-10

0192862189
ISBN-13

978-0192862181
Edition

Subsequent
Publisher

OUP Oxford
Publication date

28 Sept. 2000
Language

English
Dimensions

19.05 x 1.02 x 12.45 cm
Print length

176 pages
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Product description

About the Author

James Lovelock is an independent scientist, inventor, and author. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974 and in 1990 was awarded the first Amsterdam Prize for the Environment by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. One of his inventions is the electron capture detector, which was important in the development of environmental awareness. It revealed for the first time the ubiquitous distribution of pesticide residues. He co-operated with NASA and some of his inventions were adopted in their programme of planetary exploration.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ OUP Oxford; Subsequent edition (28 Sept. 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0192862189
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0192862181
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.05 x 1.02 x 12.45 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 330,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 219 in Gaia
- 258 in Environmental Philosophy
- 360 in Botany & Plant Ecology

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155 ratings

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5 star		61%
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3 star		16%
2 star		1%
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T1

Very Interesting to Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 November 2018

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Although I only just found the book and didn't realise until later that it was published some thirty (?) years ago, I was very impressed.
A lot of customers have remarked that it is a 'must read' for people who care about the global environment, with which I totally agree. However, surely it is better for the uninformed (in the literal sense of the word) to be reading this - to learn more about the impacts of humanity on Gaia.
I am sure that if I had read this some thirty years ago, I would have appreciated far more the 'global entity' and the way everything interacts with everything else (in the biological sense of the word). Is this sort of material supplied to schools/colleges for younger people to read (or was it supplied some thirty years ago), as this would surely be an ideal way to educate them in caring more for their environment.

One person found this helpful

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Mr . Review .

A chemistery book - One of these books should be supplied with every packet of sleeping tablets.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 July 2019

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For me this book should have been addressed from a spiritual perspective first , as opposed to a purely scientific perspective Thinking it was written as per the latter I went and bought the book . Big mistake . The open minded amongst us know the world we live in is primarily spiritual and all one ends up with in this book is something that would interest chemistry students only . It bored me to tears and I couldn't wait to finish reading it and getting it out of my sight . This is the first time I gave any book a one star but that's all it merited IMO.

One person found this helpful

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Mr. A. Milne

A must-read, but it is only a hypothesis

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 April 2013

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Lovelock's Gaia theory was written in the 1970s, but by now has become one of the most iconic environmental and scientific hypotheses, and for that reason alone, it is worth a read. Almost every debate on global warming, pollution and damage to biodiversity references this idea at some point, and with good reason, as it is an interesting idea that certainly has some valid scientific, as well as intuitive, basis. While a passing knowledge of biology and chemistry is useful for some of the more scientific chapters, it is not necessary in order to understand the ideas, and the text is well written and easy to read. It is a book that everyone could and should read, but that doesn't mean that it is without flaws.

Firstly, there is a difference between a hypothesis and a theory - a hypothesis is a proposed explanation, and only becomes a theory when its' arguments and anticipated effects are backed up by evidence. What this book contains is a hypothesis with some strong scientific evidence in parts, and some heavy speculation in other parts. The argument that the presence of life has maintained a different balance of elements and a different climate to what would occur without the existence of life is well explained and backed up with evidence, as are some specific examples around how certain systems regulate conditions such as the salinity of the ocean. However, in pursuit of the overall idea, I find that Lovelock starts to go a bit far, especially with the idea that life has in some way evolved to benefit the regulation of the planet. There is little evidence presented for this beyond the fact that it backs up his theory, and ideas such as the concept of corals building themselves into coral reefs to create evaporation lagoons with the intention of regulating the salt in the sea seem a bit too far-fetched.

This book should be praised for raising awareness of how inter-related life on earth is, and the indirect effects of our actions, but you may be surprised at some of the opinions on environmental issues in here. For example, Lovelock dismisses the threat to the ozone layer from CFCs as being insignificant (albeit partly due to the over-the-top doom-mongering at the time, rather than the modern worry that it will merely increase the chances of skin cancer).

Overall, it is a must-read, for the interesting ideas and for its' significance in modern thinking about the critical topics of the environment, but be warned that it is more of an expression of an idea than a fully explained thesis (I believe his book, 'The Ages of Gaia' provides a more scientific approach)

2 people found this helpful

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O. J. Higgins

A fantastic read, and the genesis of a whole new science

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 January 2015

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Even now this is a really interesting book. I'm in my 3rd of 4 years of a chemistry degree, and so decided to pick it up to give me some background about the environment of the earth, as well as how the way the earth's atmosphere has been changing in recent years.

The book is a fairly easy read (I am not just saying this because I am scientifically minded, Lovelock has a real talent for explaining very complex concepts in relatively simple language), and I never found it excessively heavy, even poetic at times. Lovelock, I believe, was one of the pioneers of Earth Systems science, and I think this was the book that catalysed the creation o that science, so from that point of view it's an incredibly important work.

Perhaps my one complaint (something that is amply dealt with in the introduction) is the way Lovelock seems to be hinting during the book at the fact that Gaia may be intelligent in herself. Obviously this isn't actually the case, but his use of language does sometimes make his intent ambiguous. If you can forgive this, it is a genuinely great (though fairly brief) read, I assure you.

Though I haven't read them, I am told his later books are somewhat more suitable for the more scientifically minded, but I really appreciate what lovelock has done here in creating an explanation of an incredibly complex topic, in a way that is both interesting and easy to understand! A wonderful read. Any questions, please ask!

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Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth Paperback – 28 Sept. 2000

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