Dr. Hillel’s new textbook conveys fundamental knowledge regarding the role of the soil as a central link in the chain of domains and processes comprising the terrestrial environment, a topic that must be an essential component of every curriculum in the environmental sciences - including soil science, ecology, forestry, hydrology, geophysics, and geography. Dr. Hillel brilliantly reveals how the soil interacts dynamically with the atmosphere above and the lithosphere below, how it influences the planets climate and hydrological cycle, how it serves as the primary habitat for a community of living organisms, and how it affects the fate of humanity.This text offers an encompassing perspective regarding the soils impact on the environment by organizing chapters among the three main sets of interacting processes: physical, chemical, and, biological. Not only is this textbook affordable to students it also includes a website with excercises, suggested field sites, and websites for supplementary information. It is written by a world-renowned soil scientist. It transcends traditionally separate disciplines as it links soil science with the larger environment. It incorporates current knowledge of such hot topics as the role of soil in world food supplies, climate change, pollution control, human expropriation of natural resources, and the prospects for harmonious and sustainable development. It is organized in a student-friendly format with examples, boxes, and key definitions in each chapter.