The Reader is the first comprehensive history of the noosphere and biosphere. Drawing on classical influences, modern parallels, and insights into the future, the Reader traces the emergence of noosphere and biosphere concepts within the concept of environmental change. Reproducing material from seminla works, both past and present, key ideas and writings of prominent thinkers are presented, including Bergson, Vernadsky, Lovelock, Russell, Needham, Huxley, Medawar, Toynbee and Boulding, and extensive introductory pieces bu the editors drawattention to common themes and competing ideas. Focussing on issues of origins, theories, parallels and potential, the discussions place issues in a broad context, compare and contrast central concepts with those of the Gaia hypothesis, sustainability and global change, and examine the potential application of noospheric ideas to current debates about culture, education and technology in such realms as the Internet, space exploration, and the emergence of super-consciousness.
Literally the sphere of mind or intellect', the noosphere is aprt of the realm of the possible' in human affairs, where there is a conscious effort to tackle global issues
The noosphere concept captures a number of key contemporary issues - social evolution, global ecology, Gaia, deep ecology and global environmental change - contributing to ongoing debates concerning the implications of emerging technologies.

For more than a decade Mikhail Gorbachev has been engaged in working to protect the earth and its inhabitants via the organization he founded in 1992, Green Cross International. In an age when ecological crises, poverty and military conflicts are humanity's chief challenges, Gorbachev urges us to stop regarding these problems in isolation. The man who changed the destiny of Russia, Europe and the world is now calling for a global perestroika (reform) of the twenty-first century. Based on many years' experience in international politics, Gorbachev appeals for urgent action based on a broad vision, including a strengthening of the UN and reforms to the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund. To complement the Declaration on Human Rights and the Charter of the UN he has co-authored the remarkable Earth Charter that is based on four key principles: Respect and Care for the Community of Life; Ecological Integrity; Social and Economic Justice; and Democracy, Nonviolence, and Peace. "Manifesto for the Earth" is a courageous and thought-provoking work by a respected elder statesman. In a partisan and polar world, this is a 'manifesto' that does not compromise its integrity to political, ideological or national sympathies.

"This book, though controversial in perspective, is an anthropological tour de force. Through detailed description, Tishkov enables readers to see behind the banal generalities around such terms as self-determination. The book puts a foreign world--ethnic and national violence--under a microscope and reports on those details that are unfortunately lost in all too many informed discussions."--David D. Laitin, author of "Identity in Formation: The Russian-Speaking Populations in the Near Abroad

"Non-Russian students of ethnicity have long admired Valery Tishkov as a supremely knowledgeable specialist in the subject, an acerbic critic of careless description, and a superb organizer of research. Here, however, we discover a sympathetic observer, historical analyst, and concerned citizen who deplores war's destructiveness. Tishkov brings Chechen voices to eloquent witness against sham and obfuscation."--Charles Tilly, author of "Durable Inequality

"This is a most valuable book on an important subject about which Americans know little. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the all-important U.S./Russia relationship as well as to general students of international affairs."--Thomas Graham Jr., former U.S. ambassador and author of "Disarmament Sketches: Three Decades of Arms Control and International Law

Mikhail Gorbachev is living proof that the word is mightier than the sword; that ideas, not armies, change the world. Dedicated to ridding humanity of the threat of nuclear annihilation, Gorbachev called for multilateral action to forge a common future at a time when the superpowers were at loggerheads. Two key words, Perestroika and Glasnost, characterised his philosophy - words that came to represent change and freedom in the universal consciousness. Gorbachev's radical thought ignited sweeping reforms in the Soviet Union, inspired liberation movements across Eastern Europe, and thawed decades of Cold War enmity. For Gorbachev, environmental matters have always been inextricably bound up with peace, security and social justice. The transition from head of state of the USSR to president of a non-governmental organisation, Green Cross International, was therefore a natural one. "Mikhail Gorbachev: Prophet for Change" traces the evolution of his vision, in particular the origins and outcomes of his environmental agenda, which belong to the important legacy of the changes Gorbachev initiated in the Soviet Union and the world. Without these critical initiatives, the many advances of today's global environmental movement would not have been possible. This anthology, featuring select speeches and writings, as well as tributes from political contemporaries and partners in the environmental and peace movements, has been compiled by Green Cross International to celebrate Gorbachev's 80th birthday. The tributes from colleagues and friends - ranging from political heavyweights George Bush and Margaret Thatcher to renowned champions of sustainability Maurice Strong and Achim Steiner - reflect the esteem in which Mikhail Gorbachev is held, and the special place he occupies in the history of our times.