Here on Earth

Writing about literature and medicine some years ago, I lamented the passing of the age when good scientists wrote with such elegance and clarity that not only was it easy to understand what they were saying, it was immensely pleasurable to read their works. This is true of a handful of modern day scientific popularizers like Lewis Thomas, Peter Medawar and Carl Sagan. Here is another to add to their ranks. Tim Flannery is a paleontologist who has morphed into an ecologist. I'm reading his new book, Here on Earth; a Natural History of the Planet, with immense pleasure and frequent "Ah! Yes!" moments as one after another the complex concepts he discusses emerge on his pages in multidimensional clarity. It is most encouraging that perceptive scholars like Flannery can still be found in this era of gobbledegook and obfuscation. It is doubly so when he is able to write about the natural history of the earth with convincing optimism -- if only we can heed and adhere to the advice and suggestions he offers. This book should be required reading for all national policy makers. All who fail to heed his words should be permanently barred from holding any public office ever again.