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Life: A Journey through Science and Politics
A renowned scientist and environmental advocate looks back on a life that has straddled the worlds of science and politics
“Compelling. . . . [Ehrlich’s] memoir includes remarkable stories of his research, travels, friends, colleagues, and scientific controversies that still roil today.”—Peter Gleick, Science
Acclaimed as a public scientist and as a spokesperson on pressing environmental and equity issues, delivering his message from the classroom to 60 Minutes , Paul R. Ehrlich reflects on his life, including his love affair with his wife, Anne, his scientific research, his public advocacy, and his concern for global issues. Interweaving the range of his experiences—as an airplane pilot, a desegregationist, a proud parent—Ehrlich’s insights are priceless on pressing issues such as biodiversity loss, overpopulation, depletion of resources, and deterioration of the environment. A lifelong advocate for women’s reproductive rights, Ehrlich also helped to debunk scientific bias associating skin color and intelligence and warned some fifty years ago about a possible pandemic and the likely ecological consequences of a nuclear war.
This book is a vital contribution to literature focused on the human predicament, including problems of governance and democracy in the twenty-first century, and insight into the ecological and evolutionary science of our day. It is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding global change, our planet’s wonders, and a scientific approach to the present existential threats to civilization.
“Compelling. . . . [Ehrlich’s] memoir includes remarkable stories of his research, travels, friends, colleagues, and scientific controversies that still roil today.”—Peter Gleick, Science
Acclaimed as a public scientist and as a spokesperson on pressing environmental and equity issues, delivering his message from the classroom to 60 Minutes , Paul R. Ehrlich reflects on his life, including his love affair with his wife, Anne, his scientific research, his public advocacy, and his concern for global issues. Interweaving the range of his experiences—as an airplane pilot, a desegregationist, a proud parent—Ehrlich’s insights are priceless on pressing issues such as biodiversity loss, overpopulation, depletion of resources, and deterioration of the environment. A lifelong advocate for women’s reproductive rights, Ehrlich also helped to debunk scientific bias associating skin color and intelligence and warned some fifty years ago about a possible pandemic and the likely ecological consequences of a nuclear war.
This book is a vital contribution to literature focused on the human predicament, including problems of governance and democracy in the twenty-first century, and insight into the ecological and evolutionary science of our day. It is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding global change, our planet’s wonders, and a scientific approach to the present existential threats to civilization.
408 pages, Hardcover
Published January 17, 2023
9 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Paul R. Ehrlich
92 books93 followersPaul Ralph Ehrlich is an American biologist and educator who is the Bing Professor of Population Studies in the department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University and president of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology. By training he is an entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera (butterflies), but he is better known as an ecologist and a demographer, specifically for his warnings about unchecked population growth and limited resources. Ehrlich became a household name after publication of his controversial 1968 book The Population Bomb.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 23, 2023
Paul Ehrlich surely had an interesting life. Much of it is documented in this autobiography, in which he describes his life from modest upbringing all the way to global fame.
Ehrlich emphasizes the outsized role his educated and intellectual mother played, especially her open attitude towards sex. This is relevant as he often refers to obviously ridiculous rules and expectations from priests or other religious figures, e.g., when he was allowed to get married only after he pronounced that he believed in God (which he doesn’t).
He also explains the impact of his mentors such as Charles Michener, an entomologist. In fact, the most notable feature of the book are Ehrlich's encounters with countless luminaries, initially more or less famous scientists and professors at Stanford University but later also celebrities and politicians. For example, early on he met John Holdren, a professor in Berkeley who became science advisor of President Obama, Peter Raven, a famous botanist, and many others. In a way, it’s fitting, because Ehrlich has had a big ego and is rightfully proud of having known all the big shots in both science and other fields. Sometimes he is going a bit overboard, however, e.g., when he claims that he “created the field of co-evolution” (p. 265) when, in fact, the phenomenon was already described by Darwin (even though he used a different name).
Ehrlich also writes about his research, but in many places I found this unsatisfactory. For example, chapter 11 describes a hodgepodge of projects, including political ones, but the lack of detail often leaves more questions than answers. One such case is Ehrlich’s involvement in the “President’s Comission on Population Growth”, where it remains mysterious what came out of that, if anything. Some real data or even summary figures would have helped a lot to explain these episodes, but that's my personal preference (and possibly a decision by the publisher).
Although Ehrlich is clearly an environmentalist who fought for nature protection early in his life, he also has his controversial sides. For instance, although having opted for a 1-child policy himself, he became an avid pilot and travelled around the world many times, apparently without any concern for the environmental impact airtravel has. Maybe he grew up in a time when this was not a concern and it was unpredictable how airtraffic would grow, but he does point out the exorbitant growth of other areas of the economy.
The most interesting chapters (8 and 12) are on the origin and reception of his bestselling Population Bomb (1968) which sold over 2 million copies. While Ehrlich’s predictions were mostly correct, Ehrlich barely appreciates the blunders of the book, particularly the fact that mass famines never happened. Neither did the Population Bomb predict the importance of women’s rights, their access to education and birth control, but at least Ehrlich appreciates these shortcomings.
Many andectodes are certainly entertaining, especially his fields trips and expeditions all over the planet, again with relatively little details on the research that resulted from these studies.
Overall, I would have preferred some diagrams or more easily summarized results of his resarch. The lack of structure in individual chapters didn’t help to make the book easier to navigate, and often Ehrlich is jumping around from continent to continent, from anecdote to anecdote. If we ignore those issues, it is a very readable book though.
Ehrlich emphasizes the outsized role his educated and intellectual mother played, especially her open attitude towards sex. This is relevant as he often refers to obviously ridiculous rules and expectations from priests or other religious figures, e.g., when he was allowed to get married only after he pronounced that he believed in God (which he doesn’t).
He also explains the impact of his mentors such as Charles Michener, an entomologist. In fact, the most notable feature of the book are Ehrlich's encounters with countless luminaries, initially more or less famous scientists and professors at Stanford University but later also celebrities and politicians. For example, early on he met John Holdren, a professor in Berkeley who became science advisor of President Obama, Peter Raven, a famous botanist, and many others. In a way, it’s fitting, because Ehrlich has had a big ego and is rightfully proud of having known all the big shots in both science and other fields. Sometimes he is going a bit overboard, however, e.g., when he claims that he “created the field of co-evolution” (p. 265) when, in fact, the phenomenon was already described by Darwin (even though he used a different name).
Ehrlich also writes about his research, but in many places I found this unsatisfactory. For example, chapter 11 describes a hodgepodge of projects, including political ones, but the lack of detail often leaves more questions than answers. One such case is Ehrlich’s involvement in the “President’s Comission on Population Growth”, where it remains mysterious what came out of that, if anything. Some real data or even summary figures would have helped a lot to explain these episodes, but that's my personal preference (and possibly a decision by the publisher).
Although Ehrlich is clearly an environmentalist who fought for nature protection early in his life, he also has his controversial sides. For instance, although having opted for a 1-child policy himself, he became an avid pilot and travelled around the world many times, apparently without any concern for the environmental impact airtravel has. Maybe he grew up in a time when this was not a concern and it was unpredictable how airtraffic would grow, but he does point out the exorbitant growth of other areas of the economy.
The most interesting chapters (8 and 12) are on the origin and reception of his bestselling Population Bomb (1968) which sold over 2 million copies. While Ehrlich’s predictions were mostly correct, Ehrlich barely appreciates the blunders of the book, particularly the fact that mass famines never happened. Neither did the Population Bomb predict the importance of women’s rights, their access to education and birth control, but at least Ehrlich appreciates these shortcomings.
Many andectodes are certainly entertaining, especially his fields trips and expeditions all over the planet, again with relatively little details on the research that resulted from these studies.
Overall, I would have preferred some diagrams or more easily summarized results of his resarch. The lack of structure in individual chapters didn’t help to make the book easier to navigate, and often Ehrlich is jumping around from continent to continent, from anecdote to anecdote. If we ignore those issues, it is a very readable book though.
April 8, 2024
I really enjoyed reading this wonderful book. It is great to know more about Professor Paul Ehrlich, his academic field works, his adventurous life, his sense of humor, and his personal life. Great to know more about his lifetime dedication to a better world for everyone including other species and social justice.
Prof Paul Ehrlich is a hero and it's always a pleasure to read his books.
Prof Paul Ehrlich is a hero and it's always a pleasure to read his books.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews