Writing Gaia: The Scientific Correspondence of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis

A full and annotated collection of the correspondence between two extraordinary scientific individuals, James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis.

Bruce Clarke (Edited by), Sébastien Dutreuil (Edited by)

9781108833097, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 18 August 2022

510 pages
23.4 x 16 x 3 cm, 0.91 kg

'Enlightening' Nature

In 1972, James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis began collaborating on the Gaia hypothesis. They suggested that over geological time, life on Earth has had a major role in both producing and regulating its own environment. Gaia is now an ecological and environmental worldview underpinning vital scientific and cultural debates over environmental issues. Their ideas have transformed the Earth and life sciences, as well as contemporary conceptions of nature. Their correspondence describes these crucial developments from the inside, showing how their partnership proved decisive for the development of the Gaia hypothesis. Clarke and Dutreuil provide historical background and explain the concepts and references introduced throughout the Lovelock-Margulis correspondence, while highlighting the major landmarks of their collaboration within the sequence of almost 300 letters written between 1970 and 2007. This book will be of interest to researchers in ecology, history of science, environmental history and climate change, and cultural science studies.

Preface
Part I. 1970-1972: 1970
1971
1972
Part II. 1973-1979: 1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
Part III. 1980-1991: 1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
Part IV. 1992-2007: 1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Part V. Commentaries on Lovelock and Margulis: Darwinizing Gaia W. Ford Doolittle
Gaia at the Margulis lab Betsey Dexter Dyer
Gaia and the water of life Stephan Harding
Gaia as a problem of social theory Bruno Latour
Befriending Gaia: My early correspondence with Jim Lovelock Tim Lenton
Gaia's pervasive influence Chris Rapley
Gaia's microbiome John F. Stolz
Tangled up in Gaia Tyler Volk Lovelock and Margulis Andrew Watson
Discovering geology, discovering Gaia Peter Westbroek
Glossary of names
Glossary of terms
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Social impact of environmental issues [RNT], Conservation of the environment [RNK], Meteorology & climatology [RBP], Oceanography [seas RBKC], History of science [PDX], Philosophy of science [PDA], Economics [KC], History of ideas [JFCX]