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geology. Two such reviews, both concentrating on the west rather than the east Mediterranean, are those b y Hsu and by Bernoulli and Laubscher in Volume 4A of this series. Two further papers in that volume, those b y Lort on geophysical results and by Stanley on Neogene and Recent sedimentation and tectonics also cover the west equally with the east Mediterranean. It may be that separation of these relevant papers was inevitable to balance the size of the Mediterranean volumes, b u t their specific recommendation in Volume 4B would have been helpful. N.H. WOODCOCK (Cambridge, U.K.)

Oil in the Seventies. G. Campbell Watkins and M. Walker (Editors). The Fraser Institute, Vancouver, B,C., 1977. 283 pp., Can. $ 1 4 . 9 5 . So much has been written a b o u t oil and natural gas in recent years that it is refreshing to read a series of essays b y distinguished authors and academics that canvas b o t h good sense and economic realism. Hydrocarbons have reached prominence in the post-war period and this has provided a fertile field for Government regulation and planning. The theme of the b o o k is focused on Canada, and the enquiry passes from the growth of local demand, the pricing of oil and natural gas, the role of Government to a coherent North American energy policy. Price regulates supply as producers respond to the upward movement in the market. On the other hand, consumers diminish demand as prices escalate, thus effecting conservation o f petroleum products and a rational use of the energy source -- a self-adjusting equilibrium. As several of the authors have pointed out, inflation -- principally created b y Governments due to lack of control of the m o n e y supply -- and state agencies have created or at least aggravated a series of problems which politicians have used as a pretext to resolve b y the introduction of further state intervention and detailed planning. This is mindful of the remarks of W.E.H. Lecky in 1899 (Democracy and Liberty, Volume 1, p. 210): " A departure from sound principle in legislation is nearly always advocated, in the first instance, on the grounds that it is entirely exceptional, strictly limited in its application, certain to do no practical harm and intended to serve some practical benefit. Once admitted, it soon becomes a starting-point or logical premise and is pushed into new fields and to new consequences." Examples are obvious in North America, and the UK has certainly not escaped the malaise which has branded companies as the culprits and forgotten that OPEC constitutes in effect a league of oil-producing states. Four major enactments in the UK between 1975 and 1976 have provided a meticulous catalogue of energy controls b u t little additional oil. The role of Government in a democracy is difficult to determine, b u t Professor W.J. Mead set o u t several useful parameters. Professor J.W. McKie postulates the approach to a unified continental

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(American) policy embracing the USA and Canada, and notes the strains that have developed over the years between the two states. A comparable situation has developed in Europe where it would seem to be a tenet of EEC energy policy b u t its attainment is impeded b y state nationalism. There is little d o u b t in b o t h regions than an integrated energy policy over a broad geographic area would ultimately contribute to relative lower energy costs than in other industrial states and provide the much-needed capital for joint development, in one case in Athabasca and the northern reaches of Canada, and in the other in the N o r t h Sea. To achieve all this and meet North American needs the rate of return must provide an economic incentive. This important aspect is discussed b y Professors Quirin and Kalymon, who observe that the adequacy of rates must be judged in the light of yields on other investment opportunities. The trouble is that Governments can also be greedy and deprive the initiative of its citizens of the effective contribution which they could make to the c o m m o n cause. T.H.H. SKEET, M.P. (London)

Saharan Dust: Mobilization, Transport, Deposition. (SCOPE 14 Papers and Recommendations from a workshop, Gothenberg, Sweden, 25--28 April 1977). C. Morales (Editor). Wiley, Chichester, U.K., 1979, 297 pp., £ 13.25. This b o o k stems from a workshop held in Gothenberg in 1977 attended by 26 scientists representing different disciplines in natural science. The aim of the workshop was " t o review the present state of the art and to give recommendations for future research and monitoring concerning mobilization, transport and deposition of air-borne Saharan soil dust and connected ecological implications". Sixteen of the papers presented at the meeting are printed together with a brief, unsigned, section on the processes involved and an even briefer summary of the conclusions reached by the meeting. None of the discussion which presumably followed the presentation of papers has been reproduced. In reviewing this book, it seems pertinent to ask whether the reader will have a full and complete knowledge of the origin and behaviour of dust blown out of the Sahara and its potential problems. The answer must be that he will not, b u t this must be qualified by saying that whatever his own speciality, he will k n o w a great deal more a b o u t the meteorology and climatology of the greatest desert in the world, for this is where the emphasis lies. The papers presented in the workshop are grouped into four sections headed, (a) General description and ecology (3 papers), (b) Mobilization (1 paper), (c) Transport (5 papers) and (d) Monitoring and deposition (7 papers). In the first section, Dubief gives a succinct review of the North African cli-