The Earth Encompassed: A History of the Environmental Sciences

Rating:
Summary: A Readable Survey for the Non-Specialist
Review: Peter J. Bowler's The Earth Encompassed is a survey of the environmental sciences from ancient times until the 1960's and 70's, with emphasis on the nineteenth century in geology and evolutionary theories. Mr. Bowler covered much of the same evolutionary ideas in his book, Life's Splendid Drama, concerning the persistence of other ideas in opposition to Darwin's materialistic ideas on evolution. This was a contrast to the usually presented idea of Darwin's immediate triumph. The Earth Encompassed is a better read for the non-specialist (such as myself) before tackling the much tougher book, not the order I took the books unfortunately. The Earth Encompassed is a very good survey that I was able to keep up with without any real background in the environmental sciences. A fascinating aspect of the book was to see the ways in which scientists in the past did not (or could not) separate their science from their beliefs, whether political or religious, and that all science occurs in a social environment of which the scientist will be an integral part. A good beginning book on a complex subject.