Cycles of Life: Civilization and the Biosphere (Scientific American Library)

A particularly clear and well presented introduction to biogeochemical cycles, explicating the interrelationship of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and living organisms as agents of change in the environment. Smil (U. of Manitoba) demonstrates how microscopic organisms of the ocean affect the atmosphere and follows the life chain to contemporary human society's industrialization and development with its worldwide disruption, specifically focusing on the links among environment, energy, food, population, economy and society that will determine the earth's future. Includes color graphs and photographs. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Vaclav Smil is a professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada.