Montgomery’s fascinating exposé of how our food is grown will convince readers that soil health should not remain an...
An optimistic look at how regenerative farming can revive the world’s soil, increasing food production, boosting cost effectiveness, and slowing climate change.
For decades, big agribusiness has promoted quick-and-dirty farming practices that have profoundly worsened the health of the planet’s agricultural land, a cycle enabled by the use of herbicides and pesticides. As a result, farmers across the world are seeing their efforts yield smaller crops and falling profits—never mind the environmental impact. Yet an often cited myth is that industrialized agriculture is the only option to keep up with a rapidly growing population. MacArthur Fellow Montgomery (Geomorphology/Univ. of Washington; The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood, 2012, etc.) combines decades of rigorous scientific research and firsthand experience to demonstrate that a common-sense, biology-based approach to maintaining soil health is key to reversing degradation. Importantly, the author emphasizes that such regeneration is not only possible, it’s within reach for farms of any size and in any climate. In a compelling writing style that is more conversational than scientific, Montgomery recounts trips around the globe where he met the pioneering farmers embracing the soil health movement. Through their successes, the author elegantly connects the dots among no-till planting, the use of cover crops, letting cows graze, and other practices that have shown almost universal success in allowing farmers to dramatically increase crop yields and lessen the need for chemical additives. These practices also reduce the amount of carbon in our atmosphere. A wide-scale move toward regenerating soil health would truly revolutionize what we eat and who has access to it, and while nothing can happen overnight—especially when government subsidies reward farming practices supporting the status quo—the author is confident that change is afoot and that the future will be bright and green.
Montgomery’s fascinating exposé of how our food is grown will convince readers that soil health should not remain an under-the-radar issue and that we all benefit from embracing a new philosophy of farming.Pub Date: May 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-393-60832-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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