He Knew He Was Right

You probably know about the Gaia concept, thinking of the Earth of a living system. He Knew He Was Right: The Irrepressible Life of James Lovelock and Gaia John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin tells the fascinating story of the inventor of this idea.

We learn about Lovelock's early life - he was something of a rebel, but willing to work hard. He also had a fair amount of luck , landing jobs where he could make the most of his inventiveness, devising gas detectors and many other devices. This culminated in him working for NASA in the 1960's on devices to find life on other planets. His method of looking for an atmosphere in a non-equilibrium state led on to the Gaia concept, that it is life which maintains such a state for it's own benefit. This idea was ridiculed at first, but over the following decades has gained in acceptance. The later parts of the book tell of Lovelock's involvement of the environmental movement. He finds global warming very worrying, and is scathing of the Green's belief that technology such as nuclear power shouldn't be used to combat it.

The book is very readable, and will be of interest to those wanting to know more about the what is happening to our biosphere, as well as those wanting to hear about life of this iconic character.