Customer Reviews
The A-Biogenic Theory of Hydrocarbon Origins Comes of Age - By: pvsheridan@aol.com, 26 Dec 2000 
I have known Dr. Gold for approximately 20 years. During this time I have written several articles for newsstand periodicals based on his work & writings. My most recent series of articles provides a discussion of how The Deep Hot Biosphere furthers the a-biogenic theory of planetary hydrocarbon formation (i.e. petroleum, coal & methane). Since publication of my articles, I have been overwelmed by reader contacts providing everything from clarifications to praise. I went to great pains to reduce the high science presented by Dr. Gold into a practical discussion regarding the abundance of the world's hydrocarbon energy supplies : There is alot more available than originally/continuously promoted by politicians, environmentalists & petroleum geologists; all of whom have relied on the BIOgenic theory of the 1870's era. Although seemingly unrelated to geopolitics, I encourage readers of all walks & persuasions to read The Deep Hot Biosphere. For those interestedin my articles, please start with my October 1999 article The Origins of Oil,in Today's SUV magazine (A USA based publication)
Another von Daniken or Velikovski? - By: , 21 Aug 1999 
For two decades Gold has peddled his notions about the formation of petroleum, & even coal, as a result of diffusion of methane from the mantle. In his view, this is from non-biogenic carbonaceous matter that accreted along with the rest of the planet. This book simply ties the hypothesis to recent discoveries of primitive, heat-loving organismsin boreholes extending down a couple of kilometres. Like any scientist, Gold selects his evidence, as is his privilege, but is more fanciful than anyone else would choose to be. It is not so much the evidence that he chooses, but that which he ignores. Among this is the growing realization that the Earth underwent a stupendous impact shortly after it formed, shedding a mass of incandescent rock vapour that gave birth to the Moon, & perhaps allowing the Earth's iron core to separate from the mantle & lose a large proportion of its volatile matter, including hydrocarbons. Core formation gave the mantle its oxidizing nature,in which reduced compounds like hydrocarbons are likely to be rare. Evidence for such conditions is provided by diamonds, which are oxidized relative to hydrocarbons, but of which Gold makes a great deal of noisein his own self-fulfilling discourses. Far more probably than Gold's hypothesis, the early Earth may have been completely molten at temperatures farin excess of those thought to pertain now. The huge wealth of evidence that Gold either omits or distorts makes this not a book for those scientists prone to apoplexy, nor for lay readers who wish to see the full breadth of knowledge. Being imaginative & well-written it has reached the science best-seller list, but then so did Erich von Daniken.
Astounding! The ideas in this book could change everything. - By: , 14 Aug 1999 The hypotheses laid outin this text will surely be remembered among the seminal developments of 20th Century science. Hopefully new explorations & experiments will get underway shortly to verify or refute his ideas. If true, his notions on the evolution of our planet, the origin of life, & the possible ubiquity of life throughout the cosmos will shape the course & focus of our explorations of our home world & our solar sytstemin the next century. If false, they will nonetheless lead to unforeseen avenuesin research. A compelling read!
the most important book since "ORIGINS - By: , 30 May 1999 Gold does for the Biosphere, what Fritjof Capra did for Physics ......... ! Now - after Gold - there is no more need to start offin a "'warm little pond", we do not need to devise all sorts of waysin which things "just happen" ........ ! Big Oil cannot scare us into accepting ANY price for oil anymore .............! This book should be compulsive reading for SCIENCE TEACHERS ........... even if Gold is only part-right (how can he be wrong?) there is a new paradigm for the origin of life & evolution on a whole! May Dr. Thomas Gold write many more books like that!
Turning the World Upside Down - By: , 19 Apr 1999 The phrase 'paradigm shift' gets thrown around pretty loosely these days, but this book represents the real thing. For many years Thomas Gold has been the prime proponent of a theory that, if true, would change many commonly accepted theoriesin both geology & biology. In short, he believes that "fossil fuels' are generated be deep, underground methane sources that feed a vast subterranean biosphere of bacteria. If Gold is right, a lot of what we have been teaching for the last century is wrong. This is the kind paradigm shift that, literally, would require that the text books be rewritten. Scientists will not accept it unless the evidence is overwhelming. Gold recognizes this & he supports his theory with a great deal of evidence representing several independent lines of reasoning. In my mind, he succeeds in making his case. I opened the book as a skeptic, but I am now convinced that Gold is probably right. I look forward to watching the new consensus emerge.
