Carbon: The Book of Life

“Carbon is a window into the entirety of life, with all its beauty, secrets, and complexity,” according to this eloquent if meandering study. Environmentalist Hawken (Regeneration) explains that the element was first created after the big bang as helium atoms fused and collided with unstable beryllium, and that carbon provides the “structural framework” for life by combining with hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen to form amino acids that cells transform into proteins. Highlighting the complex ways carbon moves through ecosystems, he describes, for instance, how mycorrhizal fungi use their filaments to penetrate tree roots so they can exchange nutrients from the soil for carbon-based fats and sugars from the tree. Hawken contends that reducing atmospheric carbon levels will require adopting the outlook of Indigenous communities who “experience trees and animals, even water itself, as living beings.” Unfortunately, the in-depth discussions of the sophisticated lexicons Native American language groups have for describing the natural world does little to elucidate how to put such a perspective into practice. Additionally, Hawken’s contention that “carbon organizes, assembles, and builds everything everywhere” gives the book an overly broad scope, with anecdotes strung together about cosmic history, the dangers of processed foods, and scientific debates over plant intelligence that fail to cohere into a unified narrative. This get lost in the weeds. Agent: Joseph Spieler, Spieler Agency. (Mar.)