Life Counts: Cataloguing Life on Earth [Hardcover]

Michael Gleich (Author), Dirk Maxeiner (Author), Michael Miersch (Author), Fabian Nicolay (Author), Steven Rendall (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0871138468 | ISBN-13: 978-0871138460 | Publication Date: June 20, 2002 | Edition: 1

Six billion people live on earth, but we share the planet with trillions of other life-forms, ranging from bacteria to whales. They make up life's infrastructure and are in effect the underpinnings of human existence. The internationally acclaimed Life Counts shows why we must preserve this biodiversity: if we don't, scientists predict, the earth may lose the ability to support its inhabitants within the next fifty years. Through breathtaking color illustrations and lively narration, readers learn that each animal on earth -- whose numbers are greater than our galaxy's stars -- as well as each plant and each microbe, plays a role essential to the life of the planet and, in surprising ways, human economies and health. How can we protect these living things and hence our world? The authors weigh scientist's and international governments' best ideas. Life Counts: A Worldwide Balance Sheet, winner of the 2000 Scientific Book of the Year award in Germany and recipient of a Distinctive Merit award from the Art Directors Clubs of both New York and Germany, is part of the larger Life Counts Project, designed to raise awareness across the globe of the importance of the world's biodiversity. "Not a single page is boring ... Instead of rows of dry tables, the authors tell stories in words and pictures." -- Bild der Wissenschaft (Germany) "Life Counts provides the best sort of infotainment. -- Die Zeit (Germany)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Did you know that outside of the tropics there are 34 kinds of parasites that feed exclusively on humans? Or that humans are responsible for the extinction of over 600 species in a mere 450 years? Written by a team of science journalists and laid out by a noted visual designer, this volume immediately draws in readers with a series of attractively illustrated, two-page spreads graphically representing numbers and the latest research, gathered with the assistance of the World Conservation Monitoring Center. These factoids about our planet's biodiversity are not just isolated sound bites but are put into context with articles that discuss such issues as cataloging species and extinction concerns. This book is written for a general audience and, along with Global Biodiversity (the companion book for specialists to Life Counts), is part of the "Life Counts Project," which aims to raise awareness of global biodiversity. Highly recommended for middle and high school libraries, as well as public libraries and academic libraries with a large undergraduate science collection. [Named Scientific Book of the Year 2000 in Germany, this book was also given a Distinctive Merit award from the Art Directors' Clubs of New York and Germany. Ed.] Marianne Stowell Bracke, Univ. of Arizona Lib., Tucso.
- Marianne Stowell Bracke, Univ. of Arizona Lib., Tucson
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; 1 edition (June 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871138468
• ISBN-13: 978-0871138460
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,117,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good thesis, but sloppy, January 14, 2003

By 

Rich P (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life Counts: Cataloguing Life on Earth (Hardcover)

This book is an attractive introduction to its subject, and features some excellent articles. I especially liked the sections describing how working with the environment (including the local people) can be more profitable than destructive methods now in use. (For example, big game hunting parks versus poaching.)

However, there are a large number of obvious errors, and who knows how many non-obvious ones. In my initial reading, I was struck by several: 1) the cost of remote sensing satellites is not $50 billion and up, as even the US wouldn't build them at that cost; $50 million makes sense [this translation was published in NY, not London]; 2) Gen. Philip Sheridan was not a Confederate general; right war, but he was Union; 3) the solar influx is not 1.35 KW/minute/square meter; the units are clearly wrong, it is ~1.35KW/square meter (measured outside the atmosphere, normal to the radiation). A ten or fifteen minute scan in review prior to returning this book revealed several other questionable to ridiculous numbers.

The compilers of this book are 3 journalists and a graphics specialist, not specialists in the subject. However, between the compilers, the original Deutsch editors, and the editors of the ENglish translation, it would be nice if at least one competent fact checker was employed.