ALLABY, (John) Michael 1933-

PERSONAL: Born September 18, 1933, in Belper, Derbyshire, England; son of Albert (a chiropodist) and Jessie May (King) Allaby; married Ailsa Marthe McGregor, January 3, 1957; children: Vivien Gail, Robin Graham. Ethnicity: British. Politics: "My political views are definitely left of center." Hobbies and other interests: "Reading (for pleasure as well as work), watching movies, listening to music, gardening, walking (gently!)."

ADDRESSES: Home—Braehead Cottage, Tighnabruaich, Argyll PA21 2ED, Scotland. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Variously employed as police cadet, 1949-51, and actor, 1954-64; Soil Association, Suffolk, England, member of editorial department, 1964-72, editor of Span, 1967-72; Ecosystems Ltd., Wadebridge, Cornwall, England, member of board of directors, associate editor of Ecologist, 1970-72, managing editor, 1972-73; freelance writer, 1973—. Military service: Royal Air Force, 1951-54, served as pilot; became pilot officer.

MEMBER: Society for the History of Natural History, Planetary Society, Society of Authors, New York Academy of Sciences, Association of British Science Writers.

AWARDS, HONORS: Runner-up, Times Educational Supplement Information Book Award, 1984, for The Food Chain; Dangerous Weather: Hurricanes selected as one of New York Public Library's 1998 books for the teenage; Aventis Junior Prize for Science Books, 2001, for How the Weather Works; Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate listed among top ten Science Reference Sources in Booklist, 2002; Society of School Librarians, honor book selection, science 7-12 category, 2002.

WRITINGS:

DICTIONARIES

(Editor) A Dictionary of the Environment, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1977, 2nd edition, New York University Press (New York, NY), 1983, 3rd edition, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1988, 4th edition published as Macmillan Dictionary of the Environment, Macmillan (London, England), 1994.

(Editor) The Oxford Dictionary of Natural History, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1985.

(Editor, with wife, Ailsa Allaby) The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Earth Sciences, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1990, 2nd edition, 1999, 3rd edition, 2003.

(Editor) The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Zoology, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1991, 2nd edition, 1999, 3rd edition, 2003.

(Editor) The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Botany, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1992; 2nd edition published as Oxford Dictionary of Plant Sciences, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1998.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1994, 2nd edition, 1998, 3rd edition, 2004.

(Advisory editor) Illustrated Dictionary of Science (previously issued with a different advisory editor as Encyclopedic Dictionary of Science, 1988), Facts on File (New York, NY), 1995.

"ELEMENTS" SERIES

Air: The Nature of Atmosphere and the Climate, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1992.

Water: Its Global Nature, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1992.

Earth: Our Planet and Its Resources, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1993.

Fire: The Vital Source of Energy, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1993.

"DANGEROUS WEATHER" SERIES

Hurricanes, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1997, 2nd edition, 2003.

Blizzards, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1997, 2nd edition, illustrated by Richard Garratt, 2004.

Droughts, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1998, 2nd edition, 2003.

Tornadoes, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1997, 2nd edition, illustrated by Richard Garratt, 2004.

Floods, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1998, 2nd edition, illustrated by Richard Garratt, 2003.

A Chronology of Weather, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1998, 2nd edition, illustrated by Richard Garratt, 2004.

Fog, Smoke, and Poisoned Rain, illustrated by Richard Garratt, Facts on File (New York, NY), 2003.

A Change in the Weather, illustrated by Richard Garratt, Facts on File (New York, NY), 2004.

MULTIVOLUME SETS

Biomes of the World (nine-volume set including Polar Regions, Deserts, Oceans, Wetlands, Mountains, Temperate Forests, Tropical Forests, Temperate Grasslands, and Tropical Grasslands), Grolier Educational (Danbury, CT), 1999.

Plants and Plant Life (wrote five volumes of a ten-volume series; titles include Plant Ecology, Plants Used by People, Conifers, Flowering Plants: The Monocotyledons, and Flowering Plants: The Dicotyledons), Grolier Educational (Danbury, CT), 2001.

(With Derek Gjertsen) Makers of Science (five-volume set), Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2002.

"ECOSYSTEM" SERIES

Temperate Forests, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1999.

Deserts, Facts on File (New York, NY), 2001.

WITH JANE BURTON

Your Cat's First Year, photographs by Jane Burton and Kim Taylor, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1985.

Nine Lives: A Year in the Life of a Cat Family, photographs by Jane Burton and Kim Taylor, Ebury Press (London, England), 1985.

A Dog's Life, Howell Book (New York, NY), 1986.

A Pony's Tale: A Year in the Life of a Foal, photographs by Jane Burton and Kim Taylor, Half Halt Press (Gaithersburg, MD), 1987.

OTHER

The Eco-Activists, Knight (London, England), 1971.

Who Will Eat? The World Food Problem, Stacey (London, England), 1972.

(With others) A Blueprint for Survival, Houghton Mifflin, 1972.

(With Colin Blythe and Colin Hines) Losing Ground: The First of Three Discussion Papers on United Kingdom Food Prospects, Friends of the Earth (London, England), 1974.

(With Floyd Allen) Robots behind the Plow: Modern Farming and the Need for an Organic Alternative, Rodale Press (Emmaus, PA), 1974.

Ecology, Hamlyn (New York, NY), 1975.

(With Marika Hanbury-Tenison, Hugh Sharman, and John Seymour) The Survival Handbook: Self-Sufficiency for Everyone, Macmillan (London, England), 1975.

Inventing Tomorrow: How to Live in a Changing World, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1976.

World Food Resources: Actual and Potential, Applied Science Publishers (London, England), 1977.

(With Colin Tudge) Home Farm: Complete Food Self-Sufficiency, Macmillan (London, England), 1977.

Animals That Hunt, Hamlyn (New York, NY), 1979.

Wildlife of North America, Hamlyn (New York, NY), 1979.

Making and Managing a Smallholding, David & Charles (North Pomfret, VT), 1980.

(With Peter Bunyard) The Politics of Self-Sufficiency, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1980.

A Year in the Life of a Field, David & Charles (North Pomfret, VT), 1981.

Le Foreste Tropicale, Instituto Geografico de Agostini (Italy), 1981.

Animal Artisans, Knopf (New York, NY), 1982.

(With Peter Crawford) The Curious Cat, M. Joseph (London, England), 1982.

(With James Lovelock) The Great Extinction: The Solution to One of the Great Mysteries of Science, the Disappearance of the Dinosaurs, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1983.

(With James Lovelock) The Greening of Mars, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1984.

2040: Our World in the Future, Gollancz (London, England), 1985.

Your Child and the Computer, Methuen (London, England), 1985.

The Woodland Trust Book of British Woodlands, David & Charles (North Pomfret, VT), 1986.

Ecology Facts, Hamlyn, 1986, 2nd revised edition published as Green Facts, 1989.

A Guide to Gaia, Macdonald-Optima (London, England), 1989, published as A Guide to Gaia: A Survey of the News Science of Our Living Earth, Dutton (New York, NY), 1990.

Into Harmony with the Planet: The Delicate Balance between Industry and the Environment, Bloomsbury Publishing (London, England), 1990.

(With Neil Curtis) Planet Earth, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 1993.

How the Weather Works, Reader's Digest (Pleasantville, NY), 1995.

Facing the Future, Bloomsbury Publishing (London, England), 1995.

Basics of Environmental Science, Routledge (New York, NY), 1996, 2nd edition, 2000.

DK Guide to the Weather, Dorling Kindersley (New York, NY), 2000.

The Environment, illustrated by Mike Saunders and others, Gareth Stevens (Milwaukee, WI), 2000.

Tornadoes and Other Dramatic Weather Systems, Dorling Kindersley (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Robert Anderson and Ian Crofton) Deserts and Semideserts, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (Austin, TX), 2002.

The Facts on File Weather and Climate Handbook, Facts on File (New York, NY), 2002.

Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate (two volumes), Facts on File (New York, NY), 2002.

The World's Weather, Gareth Stevens (Milwaukee, WI), 2002.

Also author of The Changing Uplands, Countryside Commission, 1983; The Food Chain, Andre Deutsch, 1984; The Ordnance Survey Outdoor Handbook,Macmillan/Ordnance Survey, 1987; Conservation at Home: A Practical Handbook, Unwin-Hyman, 1988; and Living in the Greenhouse, Thorsons, 1990; and edited Thinking Green: An Anthology of Essential Ecological Writing, Barrie & Jenkins, 1989.

Contributor to books, including The Environmental Handbook, edited by John Barr, Ballantine, 1971; Can Britain Survive?, edited by Edward Goldsmith, Stacey, 1971; Teach-In for Survival: A Record of the Teach-In on a Blueprint for Survival, Held at Imperial College, London, in May 1972, edited by Michael Schwab, Robinson & Watkins, 1972; Ecology, edited by Jonathan Benthall, Longmans, Green, 1973; Nightwatch, edited by Linda Gamlin, M. Joseph, 1983; and Ecology 2000: The Changing Face of the Earth, edited by Edmund Hillary, Beaufort Books, 1984. Also contributor to Encyclopaedia Britannica, and to magazines, journals, and newspapers.

Most of Allaby's works have been published in both the United Kingdom and the United States and several titles have been translated into foreign languages including French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Research into the positive influence technology has made on the quality of human life.

SIDELIGHTS: Born in Belper, Derbyshire, England, in 1933, writer Michael Allaby's early careers included training as a police cadet, working in a morgue, acting in a children's repertory theater, piloting planes for the Royal Air Force, and writing for an environmentalist magazine. Since 1973, however, the author has worked as a freelance writer, penning many books that focus primarily on scientific topics such as ecology and weather. He has written, edited, and revised numerous encyclopedias and dictionaries for prominent publishers such as Facts on File, Macmillan, and Oxford University Press. Allaby wrote on his Web site, "In my books you'll find simply written explanations of what really goes on in the world around us. Over the years I've written about ecology, animal behaviour, farming, and the countryside. More recently a lot of my work has been about weather and climate. . . . Many of my books are for young readers, but I like to think I'm talking to anyone who'll listen."

Allaby's science writings include dictionaries that define terms related to subjects ranging from botany to zoology. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Botany, later published as Oxford Dictionary of Plant Sciences, includes about 5,500 clear, concise entries about plant life. In The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, Allaby defines and discusses ecological topics such as acid rain and the greenhouse effect. Serving as advisory editor, Allaby revised and updated the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Science to produce Facts on File's Illustrated Dictionary of Science. According to a Booklist reviewer, the updated dictionary is "written in clear, nonspecialist language" and includes definitions of terms related to biology, medicine, geology, physical geography, astronomy, and technology.

In his Basics of Environmental Science, according to Jonathan Horner of the Geographical Journal, "Allaby considers a very wide range of topical environmental concerns including global warming, eutrophication, soil erosion, overfishing, and pollution." Horner praised the author, writing, "Allaby is to be commended for producing a very readable up-to-date introduction to the major disciplines comprising environmental science." In The Environment, Allaby writes about nutrient cycles, biomes, the ozone layer, and other topics. Kathleen Isaacs of School Library Journal commented, "[The Environment] presents a broad, browsable introduction . . . [to] the make-up and natural systems of our planet." Among Allaby's other science writings are the nine-volume Biomes of the World, which describes polar regions, oceans, wetlands, and other ecosystems throughout the world; five-volumes of a ten-volume set titled Plants and Plant Life; the "Elements" series, which explains earth, fire, water, and air; and the "Ecosystem" series, which discusses topics such as temperate forests and deserts. Claudia Moore of School Library Journal called Deserts from the "Ecosystem" series "a wonderful, reader-friendly work" full of "outstanding color photographs and clear diagrams." The book discusses the geography, geology, biology, history, economics, health, and management of deserts.

Another major focus of Allaby's works has been weather and climate. He has written encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks on weather and climate, and has penned an entire series on dangerous weather conditions. The "Dangerous Weather" series includes volumes on severe weather conditions such as droughts, blizzards, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and even fog. Booklist's Mary Romano Marks observed that the examples in Droughts "vividly bring to life the reality of extreme forms of weather." Shauna Yusko of School Library Journal commented that while the chapters in Fog, Smog, and Poisoned Rain were "somewhat dense," the "well-written" book will "provide enough material for students researching meteorology, climatology, and the environment." In his DK Guide to Weather, Allaby presents information on each type of weather phenomenon on a two-page spread, complete with color photographs. Booklist's Carolyn Phelan called the photographs "clear, colorful, and dramatic," and noted that "students researching specific topics will find themselves browsing widely through this impressive volume."

In Allaby's Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate, the author provides a comprehensive overview of weather-related terms, and offers biographical information on those who contributed to the study of weather. Included in the book is a bibliography, references to helpful books, Web sites, and other resources, and five appendices with titles such as "Chronology of Disasters," "Chronology of Discoveries," and "Tornadoes of the Past." School Library Journal's Dana McDougald labeled the Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate "a much-needed resource that does not disappoint." Similarly, Mary Ellen Quinn wrote in Booklist, "This book stands out because it is an easy-to-understand, well-put-together text." Allaby's Facts on File Weather and Climate Handbook also received good reviews from critics. Robin N. Sinn of Reference and User Services Quarterly called the volume "a nice reference work covering the basic terms in climate and weather."

Turning his attention away from environmental science, Allaby wrote Makers of Science with Derek Gjertsen. According to a Booklist critic, Makers of Science takes "a slightly different approach to ordinary biographical information on scientists. . . . This set," the reviewer continued, "incorporates the political and social setting as well as the scientific achievements of each scientist. . . . Scientific principles are clearly explained [and] . . . intriguing personal stories are woven in." The book documents the lives of forty-one important scientists beginning with Aristotle and ending with Stephen Hawking. Brief biographies of other important figures are also included. School Library Journal contributor John Peters believed, "For scope, ease of use, and clarity of presentation, this set . . . is likely to become the first choice of middle graders on research missions." The Booklist critic concluded, "Science teachers will love the connections made between different inventors' works and how science is relevant to our life today."

Allaby once told CA: "In recent years I have become increasingly disturbed by the shift away from scientific, indeed rational, thought in popular culture. Fed by the exaggerated propaganda of the populist environmental movement and by wide, but uninformed concern over ethical issues raised by potential scientific or technological developments, the distrust of scientists and technologists has developed into a fear and rejection of the future itself. The evidence can be seen in the quest for spurious certainties by adherents of fundamentalist religions, the invention of new pseudo-religions that rely on magic to achieve control of the natural forces, and the sentimental yearning for a world in which plants and animals can live in cozy harmony with humans enjoying the supposedly simple life that our ancestors are alleged to have enjoyed in the distant past.

"I believe these views must be challenged in the strongest possible terms, lest their gloomy forebodings become self-fulfilling prophecies, and I am working to develop an argument that will achieve this. The resulting book will re-assert the positive contribution to the quality of our lives that has been made in the past by scientific discoveries and technological development and will list some of the contributions that may be made in years to come."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Reference Books Annual, 1996, review of The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, p. 777, review of Illustrated Dictionary of Science, p. 639; 1999, review of Blizzards, p. 634, review of A Chronology of Weather, p. 634, review of Droughts, p. 634, review of Floods, p. 634, review of Hurricanes, p. 634, review of Tornadoes, p. 635.

American Scientist, November, 1995, review of Illustrated Dictionary of Science, p. 563.

Appraisal: Science Books for Young People, Volume 29, 1996, review of Illustrated Dictionary of Science, p. 6.

Booklist, January 15, 1995, review of The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, p. 950, review of A Dictionary of the Environment, p. 950; October 1, 1995, review of Illustrated Dictionary of Science, p. 350; March 1, 1997, review of EnciclopediaVisual: El Planeta Tierra, p. 1196; December 1, 1997, Mary Romano Marks, review of Droughts, p. 621; December 1, 2000, Carolyn Phelan, review of DK Guide to Weather, p. 729; May 1, 2002, Mary Ellen Quinn, review of Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate, p. 1542; June 1, 2002, review of Makers of Science, p. 1776.

Book Report, January-February, 1998, James Gross, review of Blizzards, p. 53, review of Hurricanes, p. 53, review of Tornadoes, p. 53; September, 1998, review of Floods, p. 72; September-October, 1999, Sandra J. Morton, review of Temperate Forests, p. 70; November, 1999, review of Biomes of the World, p. 85; March, 2002, review of Makers of Science, p. 57.

Books for Keeps, May, 2001, review of DK Guide to Weather, p. 25.

Children's Bookwatch, March, 1998, review of Droughts, p. 2.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, January, 1995, N. Chipman-Shlaes, review of The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, p. 744; June, 2002, J. C. Stachacz, review of Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate, p. 1740.

Christian Science Monitor, August 31, 1983.

Geographical Journal, November, 1997, Jonathan Horner, review of Basics of Environmental Science, pp. 310-311.

Horn Book Guide, spring, 1998, review of Blizzards, p. 122, review of Droughts, p. 122, review of Hurricanes, p. 122, review of Tornadoes, p. 122; fall, 1998, review of A Chronology of Weather, p. 374, review of Floods, p. 374; spring, 2001, review of DK Guide to Weather, p. 108; fall, 2001, review of The Environment, p. 359; spring, 2002, review of Tornadoes and Other Dramatic Weather Systems, p. 133.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 1997, review of Tornadoes, p. 1384; November 1, 1997, review of Droughts, p. 1640.

Library Journal, October 15, 1995, Laura Lipton, review of Illustrated Dictionary of Science, p. 54; November 1, 2002, Nancy R. Curtis, review of Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate, p. 76.

Nature, June 2, 1994, John Lawton, review of The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, p. 368; February 1, 1996, review of Facing the Future, p. 412; February 29, 1996, review of The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, p. 784.

New Scientist, April 8, 1995, review of How the Weather Works, p. 41; June 10, 1995, review of Facing the Future, p. 43; October 11, 1997, review of Basics of Environmental Science, p. 48.

New Technical Books, May, 1994, review of The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, p. 575.

New York Times Book Review, January 6, 1985.

Personal Computer World, May, 1996, Jessica Hodgson, review of Facing the Future, p. 228.

Population Studies, November, 1995, Richard Sand-brook, review of Macmillan Dictionary of the Environment (4th edition), p. 537.

Publishers Weekly, August 28, 2000, "A Wonderful World," review of DK Guide to Weather, p. 85.

Reference and Research Book News, March, 1994, review of Fire: The Vital Source of Energy, p. 52; December, 1994, review of The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, p. 41; September, 1995, review of Illustrated Dictionary of Science, p. 57.

Reference and User Services Quarterly, spring, 2003, Robin N. Sinn, review of The Facts on File Weather and Climate Handbook, p. 265.

Reference Reviews, May, 2001, review of Deserts, p. ONL; March, 2002, review of Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate, p. ONL.

School Librarian, winter, 1999, review of Temperate Forests, p. 219.

School Library Journal, February, 1994, John Peters, review of Planet Earth, p. 108; September, 1995, review of Illustrated Dictionary of Science, p. 237; April, 1998, Jeffrey A. French, review of Hurricanes, p. 140, review of Tornadoes, p. 140; November, 1999, review of Biomes of the World, p. 75; March, 2001, Kathleen Isaacs, review of The Environment, p. 259; August, 2001, Claudia Moore, review of Deserts, p. 211; May, 2002, Dana McDougald, review of Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate, p. 91; February, 2002, John Peters, review of Makers of Science, p. 84; May, 2003, John Peters, review of Makers of Science, p. 101; October, 2003, review of Makers of Science, p. 46, Shauna Yusko, review of Fog, Smog, and Poisoned Rain, p. 103.

Science Books and Films, October, 1995, review of Illustrated Dictionary of Science, p. 206; November, 1999, review of Biomes of the World, p. 274.

SciTech Book News, December, 1994, review of The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology, p. 17; July, 1995, review of The Illustrated Dictionary of Science, p. 4; June, 1999, review of Temperate Forests, p. 70; March, 2001, review of Deserts, p. 61; September, 2001, review of Basics of Environmental Science (2nd edition), p. 10.

Times (London), January 23, 1986.

Times Educational Supplement, July 7, 1995, Dennis Ashton, review of How the Weather Works, p. R4.

Times Literary Supplement, July 29, 1986.

Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 1995, review of How the Weather Works, p. 319; June, 2001, review of Deserts, p. 149.

ONLINE

Michael Allaby Web site,http://www.michaelallaby.com/ (June 30, 2004), author's homepage.*