Gaia's Body: Toward a Physiology of Earth (Copernicus) [Hardcover]

Tyler Volk (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387982701 | ISBN-13: 978-0387982700 | Publication Date: October 23, 1997 | Edition: 1

Is Earth alive? Put more rigorously, is the biosphere a self- sustaining meta-organism? This is the essence of Gaia theory: if the biosphere really is a single coherent system, then it must have something like a physiology. It must have systems and processes that perform living functions. OK, then, what systems, what processes, what functions? Gaia's Body is Tyler Volk's answer to this question. In this book, he describes the environment that enables the biosphere to exist; various ways of looking at its "anatomy" and "physiology," the major biogeographical regions such as rainforests, deserts, and tundra; the major substances the biosphere is made of; and the chemical cycles that keep it in balance. He then looks at the question of whether there are any long-term trends in earth's evolution--is Gaia growing colder? more complex?--and examines the role of humanity in Gaia's past and future. Adherents and skeptics both have often been concerned that Gaia theory contains too much goddess and too few testable hypotheses. This is the book that describes, for scientists, students, and lay readers alike, the theory's firm basis in science.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an outstanding contribution to global ecology. The book is very well written and easy for a broadly educated audience to follow. ...I read it as an exciting novel." Nature

About the Author

Tyler Volk is Associate Professor of Earth System Sciences at New York University and the author of Metapatterns: Across Space, Time, and Mind. He lives in New York and New Mexico.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 269 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (October 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387982701
• ISBN-13: 978-0387982700
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,902,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tyler Volk is Science Director for Environmental Studies and Professor of Biology at New York University. Recipient of the NYU All-University Distinguished Teaching Award, Volk lectures and travels widely, communicates his ideas in a variety of media, plays lead guitar for the science-inspired rock band The Amygdaloids, and is an avid outdoorsman. Volk's previous books include CO2 Rising: The World's Greatest Environmental Challenge; Metapatterns Across Space, Time, and Mind; and Gaia's Body: Toward a Physiology of Earth.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A highly readable account of how Gaia's parts interact., December 15, 1998

By 

David Schwartzman ([e-mail]) (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gaia's Body: Toward a Physiology of Earth (Copernicus) (Hardcover)

This book is required reading for all those interested in how the parts of global biosphere ("Gaia") interact. It is pleasure to read, thanks to the knowledge and writing talent of the author. Volk introduces the concept of a metabolizing Gaia, with its parts consisting of kingdoms, cycles, pools, etc., depending on the perspective of the observer. He suggests the fundamental "actors" in this metabolism are biochemical "guilds", such as nitrogen fixers, and respirers, which cut across divisions such as kingdoms. In Volk's interpretation, Gaia is not a living organism, nor does it or its parts necessarily remain at homeostasis, but it has a metabolism, a geophysiology. His calculations of the phenomenal surface areas of bacteria and fungi demonstrate the potential of life as a powerful geological force. I am proud to say that some of Volk's discussion draws on our very fruitful collaboration studying the biotic influence on weathering and climate, which started from our first meeting at the historic American Geophysical Union conference on Gaia in 1988.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Unity of Life, March 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Gaia's Body: Toward a Physiology of Earth (Copernicus) (Hardcover)

Volk takes an appealingly folksy and romantic concept and turns it into the stuff that even scientists can't scoff at. Seeing the interdependence of all living organisms in a system helps drive home the point that no human act is without repercussions. Volk's prose is vivid enough to please an English major, and substantive enough to subdue biogeochemists and their ilk the world over. Read Gaia's Body and see how molecular mechanisms can make meaning and metaphor for both poets and scientists.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gaia explained, March 20, 2000

By 

Kevin Harrison (Newton, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gaia's Body: Toward a Physiology of Earth (Copernicus) (Hardcover)

Tyler Volk created a thoughtful and well written book that clearly defines the biogeochemical mechanisms that govern the biosphere. Reading this book is like reading a gripping who-dunit - you don't want to put it down.

The "Gaia in Time" chapter captivated me with its analogy of viewing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels as an integral of a complex web of biogeochemical cycles. How this proxy was shifted by cryptogamic microbial crusts, photosynthetic organisms, nitrogen fixers, non-photosynthetic sulfide oxidizers, land plants, and calcareous plankton fascinated me.

If you read one book on the Gaia hypothesis, this should be it.