Fair conditon. Tear on spine dustover. Wear at edges of dust cover. Brown marks on first and blank page.

Jim Lovelock believes that life on Earth defines the material conditions needed for its survival and makes sure that they are maintained; that living matter is not passive in the face of threats to its existence. He does not agree with the conventional view that life exists on Earth only because material conditions happen to be just right. The atmosphere seems to hay e been designed cooperatively by the totality of living systems to carry out certain necessary control functions. The system appears to exhibit the behaviour of a single organism, every of a living creature, and one having such formidable powers deserves a name: Gaza, the name given by the ancient Greeks to their earth goddess.

This fresh look at life on Earth questions whether conservationists and environmentalists are concerned about the right problems. While stressing the need for continued responsibility and vigilance, the book argues that, thanks to Gaia, our fears of pollution-extermination may be unfounded. Just as a healthy bodys a prerequisite to a healthy mind, so is a healthy Earth the precondition of health for Mankind. The Gaia hypothesis is an alternative to that pessimistic view which sees nature a primitive force to be subdued and conquered. It is also an alternative to
that equally depressing picture of our planet as a demented spaceship, forever travelling, driverless and purposeless. around an inner circle of the sun.