Human impacts are often subtle and complex. They easily escape our notice as they make small cumulative changes in the environment. Only by intensive analysis of the chemistry and spatiotemporal dynamics of particles, forces, and flows can some impacts be detected. But as human population and land use have grown, so has the visibility of the impacts.

In this book, British geographer Andrew Goudie gives well-illustrated discussions of many types of human impacts. Throughout, he points out the complexity of the impacts and uncertainties about their causes. With examples drawn from hundreds of studies, Professor Goudie summarizes a broad array of previous research.

Following an introduction to the development of human attitudes toward nature, the book covers vegetation, animals, soil, water, geomorphology, and climate. It ends with a chapter on the current view of human impacts.

When The Human Impact was first published in 1981, one reviewer, Paul Ward English, said, "this is an unusually fine book." I agree.
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