Lovelock, a scientist who has written for many years about the dangers of ignoring the problems of the environment, has finally come to the conclusion that global warming is leading to a disruption of life on earth. He sees no option but to circle the wagons and try to preserve the species until the planet heals itself. This book is in the nature of a memoir, for Lovelock and for the earth. Using the ancient name of Gaia for the planet, he sees the world as a living being in which all elements are intertwined. The advent of humanity, which over populated the world and used up resources faster than they could be replaced, has put Gaia past the tipping point. While Lovelock makes some proposals for slowing the process, he sees no chance for most of the population to survive as the coastline floods and the fields dry. Lovelock may very well be right in his hypothesis but since he neglected to provide citations of scientific studies for any of his data, this book remains only one man's opinion. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)