Editorial Review:
The story of carbon—the building block of life that is, ironically, humanity’s great threat .
It could be said that all of us are a little alien—our bodies’ carbon atoms first shot forth from supernovas billions of years ago and far, far away. Carbon has always been the ubiquitous architect and chemical scaffolding of life and civilization; indeed, all living things draw carbon from their environments to stay alive, and the great cycle by which carbon moves through organisms, ground, water, and atmosphere has long been a kind of global respiration system that helps keep Earth in balance. And yet, when we hear the word today, it is more often than not in a crisis context: carbon dioxide emissions have sped up the carbon cycle; chlorofluorocarbons are destroying the ozone layer and warming the planet; the volatile Middle East explodes atop its stores of volatile hydrocarbons; carbohydrates threaten obesity and diabetes.
In The Carbon Age, Eric Roston evokes this essential element, its journey illuminating history from the Big Bang to modern civilization. Charting the science of carbon—how it was formed, how it came to Earth and built up—he chronicles the often surprising ways mankind has used it over centuries, and the growing catastrophe of the industrial era, leading us to now attempt to wrestle the Earth’s geochemical cycle back from the brink. Blending the latest science with original reporting, Roston makes us aware, as never before, of the seminal impact carbon has, and has had, on our lives.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
Outstanding book with breadth and depth  2008-12-04
This is a unique book, sweeping in breadth. On the surface, it is a typical science book, but the author manages to add grandeur by giving it a historical perspective.
Historical in a couple of senses: First, charting the history of the earth, and second, delving into mankind's history and man's relation to Carbon.
The author's research was phenomenal, and on every page there is some provocative or interesting fact that is new (to me at least, and Im rather well read).
I do have a suggestion, and if the author ever publishes a 2nd edition, I seriously recommend it: The book could use one or two historical graphs showing trends over time. A picture is worth a thousand words, and if there is one message, one thought, that this book pronounces it is that there have been long-term, gradual changes in the earth's environment, and we need to understand those to survive and flourish. But words are not enough to convey that thought: I want a graph that shows some of the trends, not just the recent Kneeley curve of CO2 in the atmosphere, but the amount of O2 in the atmosphere. There was no O2 originally, then plants came along and pumped out O2, and animals were able to evolve, then they started exhaling CO2, etc. What is the long-term dynamics of plants/animals/O2/CO2?
In summary, this is an interesting, educational book. It does focus on global-warming near the end, but that is not the primary aim of the book, and one shouldn't dismiss it as "just another global warming book". I highly recommend this to anyone interested in science or the environment.
A recommended pick for school science and general-interest libraries alike 2008-11-14
This discussion of the basic element carbon and its journey from prehistory to modern times surveys the science of carbon, its impact on the civilized world, and the ways mankind has used carbon over the centuries. Modern science blends with original research into history and technology to create an involving survey of one of the basic building blocks of life, a recommended pick for school science and general-interest libraries alike.
Back to School 2008-09-30
This book crams more information than a year of high school chemistry -- I hope that doesn't sound dull.
Roston does brings a chemistry perspective on things from the big bang to evolution to the auto.
When it comes to implications for our future due to greenhouse gases, it can be daunting and despairing; but that's the price for being informed.
thanks Eric.
Up-to-date Notes on Carbon 2008-09-22
This book is a natural & "unnatural" history of carbon and humans. If you wonder about scientific debate this book is a good place to start.
Chapter 1 describes carbon's origin and role before RNA/DNA appear.
Chapter 2 concerns the origin of "life",while admitting that there is no good definition. The book is weak on scientific [evecological] philosophy. Yes,we can name peculiarities of RNA/DNA states of being,but likewise waves,clouds,crystals,etc. have their equally unique properties, even having features akin to reproduction; and everything in the universe is certainly sensitive and evolves in concert with everything else [evolutionary ecology or evecology].
Chapter 3,I believe,does a nice job on the "darker" ages of microbial life on Earth, emphasizing carbon, and oxygen's rise in the shallows.
Chapter 4's title["Inherent Brutality"]is a little much, subscribing rather fanatically to the more sensationalistic than scientific view of the "arms race" school. In ecological studies of relatively healthy nature "competition" is a jargon word to most since natural shortages do not seem to exist[e.g. deserts are not lacking in water,they're naturally dry;similarly forest floors are dark,but not "short" on light; and Galapagos finches don't want to breed if there is less feed]. Also,humans seem to be the only predators,ever[Yes,including that big vulture T.rex]. Everybody else eats ripe,about-to-die,or dead animals or plants.However,even fallen humans don't eat green oranges-Think about it.
Chapter 5 is a fascinating essay on the 1/4 billion years of nearly unchanging Ginkgo trees; though,of course there are other "living fossils",just as old ,such as tadpole shrimp.
Chapter 6 is mainly supportive of a very plausible theory: That humans have evolved ecologically as a "runner" version of ape. Since I have myself have run a distance equivalent to circling the Earth,mostly accompanied by a dog or two,this chapter is personally interesting. I will add here my own view that running,at least in the desert or mountains where I run,is,in my opinion,quite meditative/thoughtful.
Chapters 6-12 are the "unnatural" chapters as the author calls them,in comparison with the "natural" chapters 1-6. Here we soon come upon Richard Dawkins' memes,and what I would call the mother of all memes: "Let's run amuck for the hell of it,because we can [at least for awhile!]; let's be "extra-special",not just special like everything else in the universe." This,of course,is my version,but Hey! Just where does Dawkins get his philosophy,so well summed up on page 119,that memes[roughly "traditions"] can "in one way or another...[to quote Roston]--temper or conquer the more base,stupid,and brutal elements of our nature." If memes are founded on thoughtless/careless/grasping genes then,pray tell,how could there be any nice memes?
In any case,I,for one, am not proud of the last 50-100,000 years of human thoughtlessness,but I don't believe that humans-or the universe-are naturally/healthily insensitive,careless,or indifferent.
Basically the "unnatural" last six chapters are about how high-tech humans are becoming;and all kinds of high-tech ways that humans can keep on being "extra-special"-and-somehow pull out of the titanic nosedive falling-humans are steering/dis-leading the Earth into.
I have to say,however,whatever its shortcomings,that this book is a wondrous window into sometimes very technical scientific journals from nearly the whole spectrum of science.
Too bad the book concludes so sadly. I myself am more hopeful that philosophy,in all its rainbow of colors,scientific,religious/spiritual, etc.,can, through or with repentance, give us hope that we and our little children, and all the Universal Parent's children, will have a healthier future than the one falling-humans have been working on. The really real future is the truth of love.
A Very Smart Book 2008-08-28
This is an insanely smart book. The author has done his homework - there is more research in each sentence than I've ever seen in any other book that I would actually read. One Amazon.com reviewer complained that the book was not deep enough. That person missed the point. The Carbon Age is about the breadth of carbon's influence in our world. The author dances from theoretical stovepipe to theoretical stovepipe - from the history of the Earth to the human genome to economics in the post-industrial age, drawing parallels on every level and uniting them all. The overarching themes that he pulls out are not just about carbon. Roston's ability to make sense out of a world of information, with sharp insight and subtle humor, is what sets this book apart.
More than the famed C element, this book is about the evolution of systems. That's why it's so useful. In each chapter, he broaches a new topic (first the creation of the Earth from galactic matter, then the origins of life on Earth, etc.) and provides an interesting history of how it all happened, how it all works. In every case, the system starts with a little thing - some space dust, a carbon molecule, a mutation in human physiognomy, an economic truism - and that little thing guides the development of something much bigger. The composition of somebody's DNA physically determines the shape and characteristics of the animal built around it. Teeny microorganism bodies build up on the ocean floor, gradually becoming a huge layer of carbon which we can tap for fuel zillions of years later. The variety, and yet the consistency, of all these factors sets the stage for us to finally understand our own human context.
And what a doozie. When Roston gets to the part about modern humans, about the industrial revolution, about cars (how Daimler and Ford and Toyota have literally changed the world), it's mind-boggling. He shows how evolutionary principles merge with economic ones, with computer systems, with scientific research. He paints a big picture of how radically Earth's systems have changed in the last 150 years, something our limited lifespans have kept secret from us all this time. It's at once fascinating and terrifying. In a measured, apolitical way, Roston makes me fear for the future of my unborn children's planet. It's humbling to realize the unprecedented power that the human race exerts on our surroundings. And it's shameful how we have let our basest human nature have its way with them.
It makes me want to plant a tree. I'll talk to it, get rid of my own carbon dioxide, it'll photosynthesize it, and pure oxygen will come out. Hey, it's not much, but I've heard that big changes are built from little changes. It's worth a shot.
You should get this book.
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