<p><b>Charles C. Mann's <i>The Wizard and the Prophet </i>pitches two influential yet little-known scientists against each other in a race against time. As Earth braces for a population surge to ten billion in the next forty years, mankind faces daunting challenges of food, water, energy, and climate change.</b><br><br>William Vogt, the ‘prophet’ and intellectual forefather of the environmental movement, warns us of impending doom if we use more than the planet has to give. Meanwhile, Norman Borlaug, the ‘wizard’ of modern agricultural science believed that science will continue to rise to the challenges we face.<br><br>Mann tells the stories of these scientists and their crucial influence on today’s debates as his story ranges from Mexico to India, across continents and oceans and from the past and the present to the future. Brilliantly original in concept, wryly observant and d
