| Contents Notes |
Introduction: The Invisibility of the Vernadskian Revolution -- pt. 1. The Biosphere in the Cosmos. The Biosphere in the Cosmic Medium. The Biosphere as a Region of Transformation of Cosmic Energy. The Empirical Generalization and the Hypothesis. Living Matter in the Biosphere. The Multiplication of Organisms and Geochemical Energy in Living Matter. Photosynthetic Living Matter. Some Remarks on Living Matter in the Mechanism of the Biosphere -- pt. 2. The Domain of Life. The Biopshere: An Envelope of the Earth. Living Matter of the First and Second Orders in the Biosphere. The Limits of Life. The Limits of Life in the Biosphere. Life in the Hydrosphere. Geochemical Cycles of the Living Concentrations and Films of the Hydrosphere. Living Matter on Land. The Relationship Between the Living Films and Concentrations of the Hydrosphere and Those of Land -- App. I.A Biographical Chronology -- App. II. Vernadsky's Publications in English. "First published in 1926 but long neglected in the West, Vladimir I. Vernadsky's The Biosphere revolutionized our view of Earth." "Vernadsky teaches us that life has been the transforming geological force on our planet. He illuminates the difference between an inanimate, mineralogical view of Earth's history, and an endlessly dynamic picture of Earth as the domain and product of living matter to a degree still poorly understood. What Darwin did for life through time, Vernadsky did for all life through space." "With this milestone publication, the first English translation of the entire text, English-speaking readers can at last read one of the great classics of modern science in their own language. Mark A.S. McMenamin, Professor of Geology at Mount Holyoke College, has written extensive annotations to explain the structure of Vernadsky's arguments and their modern relevance. Jacques Grinevald, the world's leading authority on the idea of the biosphere, has provided an introduction that places the book in historical context."--Jacket. |
