2018 Reprint of 1962 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. Bookchin wrote Our Synthetic Environment under the pseudonym Lewis Herber. This was one of the first books of the modern period in which an author espoused an ecological and environmentalist worldview. It predates Silent Spring (1962) by Rachel Carson, a more widely known book on the same topic widely credited as starting the environmental movement. "At the time of its publication, Our Synthetic Environment was the most comprehensive and enlightened book on the environmental crisis. Many other books on this topic have been published since, but none, I believe, as comprehensive." --René Dubos

This volume contains material first presented at an international workshop on the 'Use of Microorganisms to Combat Pollution', held in Israel, May 10--18, 1992. The workshop was sponsored by the Bat-Sheva de Rothschild Foundation for the Advancement of Science and included microbiologists, biochemists and geneticists from universities, environmental agencies and the military. Each of the contributors to this volume is an ack nowledged expert on the treatment of one or more types of pollution using microorganisms or their enzymes. This book differs from most published symposia proceedings in the breadth of coverage of each subject. Most of the chapters are divided into three parts: (a) A general presentation of the source and toxicity of the pollutant, (b) a review of the current state-of-the-science on the biodegradation of that pollutant and (c) the authors' unique research experiences on the problem. In several examples, the authors have presented data from both laboratory studies and field trials. Thus, the book contains not only the theoretical background on the biodegradation of pollutants, but also practical experiences in applying this knowledge to solving significant pollution problems.

David Lasser stands as one of the least-known but extraordinary pioneers of spaceflight. In 1930 he founded the American Interplanetary Society (AIAA) -- the same year he wrote this book -- the first book ever written in the English language to address the notion of spaceflight as a serious possibility. The book has not been in print since 1931 and yet it still stands up to scrutiny. The lucid style with which Lasser explains the basic concepts of rocketry make it a delight for anyone to read.

The Negev , first published over a decade ago, told the story of some twenty years of study of southern Israel's desert. It synthesized the findings of botanists, geologists, soil scientists, agronomists, archaeologists, historians, and engineers and told how the applications of their work produced an agricultural surplus in this forbiddingly dry, hot region. , Now Michael Evenari has amplified the book with data from another decade of work. He describes the efforts at a new farm at Wadi Mashash, extends the weather data another ten years, presents further work on the adaptations of plants and animals to desert conditions, and takes a much deeper look at the historical precedents for the method of runoff agriculture, which has made the desert bloom.

The Symposium on the Global Effects of Environmental Pollution has performed an important task; it has helped to determine the world-wide impact of certain types of local pollution and has uncovered certain unsuspected effects that might hold dan gerous implications for the future. This Symposium should help to make the world aware of a crisis that is becoming more ominous and that involves the developing as well as the developed countries - the crisis of the human environment. The causes of this crisis are not difficult to discern. There has been an unprecedented increase in the world's population, an ever-increasing rate of urbanization, and in many countries, a continuous process of industrialization. Essentially, advancing technology has made it possible for a minority of mankind to achieve affluence and holds out hope for improving the well-being of the great majority. But, because it has not been integrated into the natural environment, this very technology - in industry, in agriculture or in transport - is having many undesir able and potentially catastrophic consequences. Our air, our water and our soil are in grave danger. Many species of animal and plant life have become extinct or are facing extinction. The loss to mankind is grave and even the future oflife on earth may be in danger. The challenge is to find ways of repairing the harm already done and to prevent further harm.

Book by Stein, Harry