A book for the general reader with an interest in science and defence of the environment. Deals with problems of the evolution of the biosphere, its origin and feature organization of the substratum of life, factors and patterns in the evolution of the biosphere, and the interrelations of the biosphere and human society. The first two chapters are concerned with the origin of the biosphere and its stages of development; the third and fourth chapters describe its modern features and parts. The fifth and sixth chapters are devoted to the problems ot the main laws and patterns of the evolution of the biosphere. And the last chapter deals with the problems of the interaction of man and the biosphere.  Prof. Mikhail KAMSHILOV, D.Sc., heads the laboratory of lower orga­nisms biology of the Institute of Biology of Inland Waters of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He is a specialist in animal genetics and hydrobiology, author of more than 150 published works, among them The Significance of Interrelation­ ship of Organisms in Evolution, The Biological Circulation, and many others.