"In his latest book, Vaclav Smil tells the story of the Earth's biosphere from its origins to its long-term future. He explains the workings of its parts and what is known about their interactions. He examines the biosphere's physics, chemistry, biology, geology, oceanography, energy, climatology, and ecology, as well as the changes caused by human activity.

He provides both the basics of the story and surprising asides illustrating critical but often neglected aspects of biospheric complexity."--BOOK JACKET.