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James Lovelock

The Ages of Gaia: A Biography of Our Living Earth (Commonwealth Fund Book Program) Paperback – March 17, 1995

by James Lovelock (Author)

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James Lovelock proposes that all living species are components of that organism, as cells are components of the human body.

Lovelock first sketched out his theory in his bestseller, Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth. People all over the world embraced the theory, and in less than ten years it moved from the margins of scientific research to the mainstream.

Lovelock argues that such things as the level of oxygen, the formation of clouds, and the saltiness of the oceans may all be controlled by biological processes. He believes that "living organisms create the optimum conditions for their own existence, and in so doing create the superorganism Gaia." The New York Times Book Review has called his arguments in favor of Gaia "plausible and above all illuminating."

Print length

278 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

March 17, 1995
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
ISBN-10

0393312399
ISBN-13

978-0393312393
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book describes a set of observations about the life of our planet which may, one day, be recognized as one of the major discontinuities in human thought. If Lovelock turns out to be as right in his view of things as I believe he is, we will be viewing the Earth as a coherent system of life, self-regulating and self-changing, a sort of immense living organism."
― Lewis Thomas

From the Back Cover

The Earth, James Lovelock proposes, behaves as if it were a superorganism, made up from all the living things and from their material environment. When he first sketched out his brilliant Gaia theory in the 1970s, people around the world embraced it; within a short time Gaia has moved from the margins of scientific research to the mainstream. James Lovelock argues that such things as the level of oxygen, the formation of clouds, and the saltiness of the oceans may all be controlled by interacting physical, chemical, and biological processes. He believes that "the self-regulation of climate and chemical composition is a process that emerges from the tightly coupled evolution of rocks, air, and ocean - in addition to that of organisms. Such interlocking self-regulation, while rarely optimal - consider the cold and hot places of the earth, the wet and the dry - nevertheless keeps the Earth a fit place for life". The New York Times Book Review has called his arguments in favor of Gaia "plausible and above all illuminating". Now, in an updated paperback edition, fully revised, the author amplifies his account of how Gaia works with descriptions of new fields of research that have been opened by this pathbreaking concept.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; REV AND EXPANDED ed. edition (March 17, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 278 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393312399
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393312393
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,056,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #550 in Gaia-based Religions
- #3,655 in Environmental Science (Books)
- #6,175 in Evolution (Books)

Customer Reviews:
27 ratings

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Kindle Customer

I was not disappointed. Lovelock tells us what is known and what ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2015

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I was introduced to Lovelock's Gaia theory many years ago, and although I went on to thinking about many other theories of life on earth, I never forgot Gaia. So, when doing research for writing my next novel, I went back to studying further the writings of James Lovelock's many books. Beginning with The Ages of Gaia: A Biography of our Living Earth, I felt that this would be the place to begin. I was not disappointed. Lovelock tells us what is known and what is not known, and why we need not concern ourselves with the origin of life on earth. Although scientists can determine some facts about the earliest times of our planet, much is speculation based on mathematical and other models of what might have happened. As a reader of Scientific American and other such publications, I know that much has been discovered since 1988 when The Ages of Gaia was published, Nevertheless since James Lovelock does not hesitate to separate speculation from modeling from facts, this is an excellent primer for those readers just beginning their quest to discover whether the earth may, itself, be a living organism capable of changing and evolving to keep itself alive. Clearly, this planet has gone through massive changes during its lifetime, and in spite of the current over-population of humans, the destruction of natural habitats, and the rise of agriculture, the depletion of fresh water sources, and so much more, the earth may be adjusting itself once again.

One person found this helpful

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Allan A. Mayer

Paperback book is missing pages

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2020

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I got this book (published as a Norton paperback 1995) in October 2019. I've finally gotten into chapter 8, the one on Mars. And it is missing six (6) pages: 177-182.

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ariel pereira

A good concise overview of the history of the planet

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2015

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A good concise overview of the history of the planet. Helps to put the global crisis of human civilization in perspective. It's interesting to note how much of the text is devoted to defending the very idea of looking at our planet as a system, as if doing so is heresy. Really?

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2017

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A classic that is well-written and understandable.

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OChemdogg

What an awesome concept

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2009

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Everyone should be enlightened about the idea of Gaia, the earth and the life on it are all part of one greater living organism. Pretty cool.

One person found this helpful

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Chad M

How geological eras built up the Earth's oxygen rich atmosphere; a forerunner to books such as "The Goldilocks Planet"

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2014

The evidence that the Earth's present state owes so much to photosynthesizing bacteria which gradually captured carbon dioxide is a humbling fact. And today so much of the new oxygen is produced by phytoplankton in the ocean. So, looking at the incredibly long times - millions and billions of years - it to form the oxygen rich atmosphere, in combination with the vast geography -- large regions of the oceans and forests - that are essential for the oxygen / CO2 balance, it is clear that tinkering with or fundamentally altering this vast life system - Gaia - calls for deep contemplation among leading scientists and politicians.

We have a "Goldilocks Planet". The scientists Zalasiewicz and Williams recount the Earth's history and climate outlook in a book of the same name. We need to take civilized and planned measures to keep it that way. Ideas for improvements to energy, agriculture and society which harmonize with the biosphere can be readily found in this book the Lovelock's new books.

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2011

Outside of some rudimentary internet research, this is the first I've read of Lovelock's Gaia Hypothesis. Despite the name (which I initially thought sounded like some kind of pop eco-philosophy a neohippy type might come up with), I was surprised at the professional, technical nature of his writing.

Lovelock hypothesizes that the planet Earth is essentially a living being, whose complex biosphere regulates such things as the chemical makeup of the atmosphere (affecting, in turn, the global climate). He compares the Earth -- with its atmosphere largely comprised of nitrogen and oxygen -- to the carbon-heavy atmospheres of "dead" Venus and at least mostly "dead" Mars.

Since Darwin's time, we've known that the environment causes organisms to evolve. Lovelock argues that the opposite is also true, and he cites many examples to support this idea. Previous mass extinctions, he says, have been the result of calamities (such as asteroids and meteorites) that temporarily threw the biosphere out of control. The current mass extinction event is an anomaly -- an individual species run amok. (Homo sapiens, therefore, are something akin to cancer cells on this giant creature.)

Lovelock's background in chemistry gives him an interesting perspective for the author of a book about ecology. He goes beyond the "this is the food chain" level and delves into the chemical nature of the biosphere and the regulatory effects these chemical changes have on the planet as a whole. Furthermore, Lovelock labels himself a "planetary physician," and urges others to become the same.

If nothing else, the analogy of the Earth as a living thing could easily serve as an excellent tool for managing the environment in the same way an automobile enthusiast may think of his car as a living thing, or -- ironically -- an athlete may think of his body as a machine. "First, do no harm" is a great first step in solving many environmental issues, and the world could certainly use more "planetary physicians."

9 people found this helpful

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jvml333

Llego muy bien

Reviewed in Mexico on February 22, 2021

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Llego en tiempo y con buena calidad

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鈴木純一

デイジーワールド

Reviewed in Japan on September 23, 2007

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基本的には、ジム・ラヴロックの前著と同じ趣旨の本。地球上の生きている部分（生命）と生きていない部分（環境）が相互作用することによって自己組織化し平衡状態を保っていること、そしてその平衡状態が自然な安定状態からかけ離れていることから、生物が環境を住みやすいように調節しているとするガイア仮説。前著との違いは、デイジーワールドと呼ばれるシミュレーションモデルとその結果が（割と詳しく）説明されている点。帯やあとがきには、この本がガイア仮説を理論化しているとありますが、それについては疑問。デイジーワールドのシミュレーション結果だけでは苦しいのでは（シミュレーション結果自体は面白いのですが）。デイジーワールドのことがかかれている3章までは興味深く読んだが、それ以降はさほど目新しい情報はなかった。4章以降はラヴロックの前著と重複する内容があるので、前著を読まずに本書だけでガイア仮説入門になると思う。

15 people found this helpful

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江藤浩一

科学者の真摯な態度が現れている。

Reviewed in Japan on September 21, 2013

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人類の過去に編み出したいろいろな見方についてへの批判もその考えを尊重しながら行われているし、なによりも人類の生存基盤への愛着に感動している。

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