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Man and his physical environment
254
BOOK REVIEWS
troduction for students in this field, and is recommended as an additional reference book for specialists. The edition of a Special Issue on the different topics of the Carboniferous in the host country of the International Carboniferous Congress will hopefully become a tradition in the future. M.J.M. Bless, Heerlen
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS
G.D. McKenzie and R.O. Utgard, 1972. Man and His Physica/ Environment. Burgess, Minneapolis, Minn., 338 pp., U.S. $ 4.95. This paperback is destined, according to the editors, for the lower-division college student, but most of it makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in problems of the environment at practically any level. The book is made up of a series of very short articles reprinted with permission from a wide range of publications and supplemented with a quantity of press-release type material. Certain modifications and shortenings of the original texts help towards a more coherent whole and the references cited in the original
articles are retained, enhancing the book's value for research and reference. Most of the material is very recent - up to 1971 in point of fact. The book is divided into seven parts: Introduction and viewpoints; geologic hazards; environmental health; waste disposal; resources and conservation; geology and regional planning; environmental programs. Some very prominent authors are listed amongst the contributors; An astonishing variety of subjects is included in each part. Whilst on the one hand the book points out man's appalling depredation of his environment, there are highly encouraging accounts of ways and means for halting and even turning some of the depredations to advantage. Some of these are at present only operative in pilot forms, but show great promise for the future. On the cover of the book and in the headings of the various parts, the globe is symbolically illustrated as an apple from which increasingly large bites are taken until only the core is left. It is to be hoped that this nicely-prepared publication will help to arouse scientists, technicians, businessmen and the general public to a greater awareness and understanding of the problems of the environment. A.V. Stunt, Amsterdam
BOOK REVIEWS
troduction for students in this field, and is recommended as an additional reference book for specialists. The edition of a Special Issue on the different topics of the Carboniferous in the host country of the International Carboniferous Congress will hopefully become a tradition in the future. M.J.M. Bless, Heerlen
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS
G.D. McKenzie and R.O. Utgard, 1972. Man and His Physica/ Environment. Burgess, Minneapolis, Minn., 338 pp., U.S. $ 4.95. This paperback is destined, according to the editors, for the lower-division college student, but most of it makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in problems of the environment at practically any level. The book is made up of a series of very short articles reprinted with permission from a wide range of publications and supplemented with a quantity of press-release type material. Certain modifications and shortenings of the original texts help towards a more coherent whole and the references cited in the original
articles are retained, enhancing the book's value for research and reference. Most of the material is very recent - up to 1971 in point of fact. The book is divided into seven parts: Introduction and viewpoints; geologic hazards; environmental health; waste disposal; resources and conservation; geology and regional planning; environmental programs. Some very prominent authors are listed amongst the contributors; An astonishing variety of subjects is included in each part. Whilst on the one hand the book points out man's appalling depredation of his environment, there are highly encouraging accounts of ways and means for halting and even turning some of the depredations to advantage. Some of these are at present only operative in pilot forms, but show great promise for the future. On the cover of the book and in the headings of the various parts, the globe is symbolically illustrated as an apple from which increasingly large bites are taken until only the core is left. It is to be hoped that this nicely-prepared publication will help to arouse scientists, technicians, businessmen and the general public to a greater awareness and understanding of the problems of the environment. A.V. Stunt, Amsterdam