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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 333.95 EAN: 9780387982687 Edition: 1 ISBN: 038798268X Label: Springer Manufacturer: Springer Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 192 Publication Date: March 27, 1998 Publisher: Springer Studio: Springer Accessories:
Editorial Review: Product Description: Though long unknown in the West, Vladimir Vernadsky's The Biosphere, first published in 1926, revolutionized our view of life on Earth. In it he set forth his idea that the emergence of life can be viewed as an astrophysical phenomenon subject to physical laws governing the interactions of matter and energy, and that the biosphere has profound effects on Earth's climate, its landforms, and the contents of its atmosphere. These ideas helped found numerous scientific fields and originated the concept of life a geological force that forms the foundation of Gaia theory. Although Vernadsky's work diffused across the Iron Curtain out of Soviet Russia only slowly and indirectly, the concept of the biosphere in use today is largely his. With this milestone publication of the first English translation of the entire text, English-speaking readers can at last read one of the great classics of modern science in their own language. Mark McMenamin has written extensive annotations to explain the structure of Vernadsky's arguments and their modern relevance, Jacques Grinvald has provided an introduction that places the book in historical context, and a stellar cast of international experts have co-signed the foreword. Average Rating:
 Rating: - A Hidden RevolutionI have had the honour of reading numerous papers by Vernadsky and find as always with genius, a hidden underlaying dimension of truth. The Biosphere is without hesitation a work of scientific spirituality as well as pure scientific genius! In a time when environmental destruction is ramp, and politically controled scientific stupidity proliferates, logical hope and science is at hand. With Vernadsky science personifies a bridge between life and its meaning. Science is indeed the search for truth, ... Read More Rating: - A work of rare genius rediscoveredIt's hard to read this book without coming away with the impression of a powerful, original mind at work. Many of Vernadsky's ideas remain unappreciated to this day. In particular, the idea of life as a cosmological phenomenon, as a means by which energy is stored and transformed on a planetary scale, should become increasingly important as the science of astrobiology develops a rigorous intellectual basis. Rating: - Deepest NaturalistI'm very happy that Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky becomes little by little known for the English speaking public. Although his "Biosphere" has been written over 70 years ago, even now its ideas remain fresh and actual. Indeed, the "Biosphere" provides a new level of thinking which permits us to consider Vladimir Vernadsky as a deepest naturalist of our century. And now I'm looking forward to the time when they will be translated and published his subsequent books - first of all the book on ... Read More Rating: - Excelent bookI have read this Vernadsky's books in Russian - his works is the cornerstone of modern culture. Vernadsky's work will be as important for human civilization in new millennium as books of Newton, Darwin, Einstein and Plato now. I'd like to read English Edition. Vernadsky's works are important for EVERYBODY, not only for biologists. Semyon D. Savransky, Ph.D. (Physics & Materaials Science, TRIZ) Rating: - I worked on the '97 edition, and I'm impressed!A biology graduate studying under Lynn Margulis, I was fortunate enough to be involved in preparing "The Biosphere" for publication; and even the raw typescript I transferred onto disk was impressive! Let me eagerly recommend V.I. Vernadsky, as the unsung Charles Darwin of geological and ecological science. In his time, Academician Vernadsky was a groundbreaker: the first to appreciate the vast scope of life's chemical influence upon the Earth ... this planet, which owes its own uniqueness to the ... Read More |
