randomprogrammer's review against another edition
3.0
Read in Summer of 2012, review from memory in 2023. This book was an absolute slog to get through, but I remeber it having an amazing scientific perspective. I was constantly learning new things and having my mind blown.
rlse's review against another edition
4.0
This book tied together geology, biogeochemistry, cell biology and medicine. I learned much from my unfamiliar areas and made many great connections to pull into my lectures and understanding. Occasionally overstated, but well-written popular science.
jonas_gehrlein's review against another edition
4.0
The book gives a complete overview over oxygen`s effect on life though the book you can see which experiments that lead to Lane`s conclusions.
His points at the end on oxygen effect on aging and the workings of Alzheimers and cancer are wellformed and worth reading.
His points at the end on oxygen effect on aging and the workings of Alzheimers and cancer are wellformed and worth reading.
duesenklipper's review against another edition
5.0
A very well-written book. The author puts forth some very interesting ideas about how oxygen and oxidation underlie many biological functions and problems.
I'm not really qualified to really make a judgement call on whether he is right on all points, but I find the arguments both plausible and convincing. Especially since he manages to link it all to the history of life on Earth and the evolution of all domains of life. He also neatly kicks out a number of currently-dominant theories, such as the pre-Cambrian oxygen catastrophe. This is the part where I really cannot tell whether he is right or not. However, he makes a plausible argument and is careful to note where the currently available evidence in support of his argument is not yet sufficient.
In any case, a very interesting read for anyone interested in evolution, biochemistry or medicine. Medicine? Yes indeed. The author also examines the effects of oxygen (free radicals) on health, and whether currently fashionable antioxidant treatments are actually useful.
I'm not really qualified to really make a judgement call on whether he is right on all points, but I find the arguments both plausible and convincing. Especially since he manages to link it all to the history of life on Earth and the evolution of all domains of life. He also neatly kicks out a number of currently-dominant theories, such as the pre-Cambrian oxygen catastrophe. This is the part where I really cannot tell whether he is right or not. However, he makes a plausible argument and is careful to note where the currently available evidence in support of his argument is not yet sufficient.
In any case, a very interesting read for anyone interested in evolution, biochemistry or medicine. Medicine? Yes indeed. The author also examines the effects of oxygen (free radicals) on health, and whether currently fashionable antioxidant treatments are actually useful.
leah_markum's review against another edition
2.0
There are two things to take into consideration when approaching this book: target audience and volume of quality content. In my case, one was a con and the other a potential pro.
The author claims this book is for the general public. No, it is not. Even people who love this book admit this is a hard read. An educational background in biochemistry with some understanding of geochemistry and genetics are a remarkable plus. Other than that you need a lot of patience. Despite my moderate knowledge in these fields (low level college), I read this book incredibly slowly for the first third. Eventually I became reluctant to read it at all, so I gave myself permission to skim.
Did I learn a lot? Yes. In fact, it's an incredibly fact dense book, especially if you don't mind the history of all the studies leading to current speculations on oxygen and its influence on life. Much--okay, page per page, it's probably most--of the book is dedicated to fleshing out the research that has theories on oxygen. Most negative reviews focus on this aspect. You can't read this book for it's conclusions, you have to enjoy reading the process.
A part of me would love to come back in a few years after bulking up my biochemistry background so that I can read faster and hold the information instead of letting the thoughts bounce back.
Here's the thing. If I could follow the book better I'd probably give it 4 stars--I truly suspect it'd be that fun and enlightening if it was accessible. However, this is where the mismatch of author intent and execution have to be my priority when deciding how I feel about the book overall. What's the point of great content if it's too disheartening to read because it's a few too many humps of challenges to bother with? No point. I did like what I did learn, but I can't give it any more credit than the 2 stars I'll give it. If I come back, I might rebalance it in consideration of it's value of knowledge as whole versus how much of that whole I grasped as a "general audience" the first time.
The author claims this book is for the general public. No, it is not. Even people who love this book admit this is a hard read. An educational background in biochemistry with some understanding of geochemistry and genetics are a remarkable plus. Other than that you need a lot of patience. Despite my moderate knowledge in these fields (low level college), I read this book incredibly slowly for the first third. Eventually I became reluctant to read it at all, so I gave myself permission to skim.
Did I learn a lot? Yes. In fact, it's an incredibly fact dense book, especially if you don't mind the history of all the studies leading to current speculations on oxygen and its influence on life. Much--okay, page per page, it's probably most--of the book is dedicated to fleshing out the research that has theories on oxygen. Most negative reviews focus on this aspect. You can't read this book for it's conclusions, you have to enjoy reading the process.
A part of me would love to come back in a few years after bulking up my biochemistry background so that I can read faster and hold the information instead of letting the thoughts bounce back.
Here's the thing. If I could follow the book better I'd probably give it 4 stars--I truly suspect it'd be that fun and enlightening if it was accessible. However, this is where the mismatch of author intent and execution have to be my priority when deciding how I feel about the book overall. What's the point of great content if it's too disheartening to read because it's a few too many humps of challenges to bother with? No point. I did like what I did learn, but I can't give it any more credit than the 2 stars I'll give it. If I come back, I might rebalance it in consideration of it's value of knowledge as whole versus how much of that whole I grasped as a "general audience" the first time.
seedwa's review against another edition
There wasn’t enough originality of authors voice coming through to keep me engaged.
fishface's review against another edition
funny
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Unsure how in date these ideas are given it was first published 2002, but a fascinating read nonetheless. I am particularly intrigued by the early chapters on how composition of certain rocks and minerals tells us indirectly a out the abundance of living organisms that decayed in the moment and didn't leave a fossil record, and those on the significance of oxidative stress on diseases correlated with aging such as Alzheimers. The author touches on topics varying from evolution to illness and is quite funny at times- definitely has a way with words to lift up the dryer passages. My only major complaint was that some sections were hard to understand coming at them with no prior knowledge: personally I knew next to nothing about vitamins and so didn't get much from the bits about them.
michielstock's review against another edition
5.0
Biogeochemistry, giant dragonflies, radiation poisoning, the origin of sexes, a theory of aging... What a ride! This book is popular science at its best!