The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST
A major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes
Over the last half-billion years, there have been Five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us.
In prose that is at once frank, entertaining, and deeply informed, New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. Interweaving research in half a dozen disciplines, descriptions of the fascinating species that have already been lost, and the history of extinction as a concept, Kolbert provides a moving and comprehensive account of the disappearances occurring before our very eyes. She shows that the sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.
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Community Reviews
The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
304 pages
What’s it about?
This book explores the past extinctions that have occurred on Earth. Elizabeth Kolbert uses her journalistic skills to highlight different species through time that have become extinct. She then discusses the very real possibility that we are in the middle of the next (sixth) extinction.
What did I think?
I thought Elizabeth Kolbert made this subject very easy to understand. She helped me see how what is happening on our planet fits into a historical perspective. She also won the Pulitzer prize for her efforts!
Should you read it?
It is certainly pertinent and informative. You should read this book if you have any interest in global warming, the acidification of our oceans, or how what is happening with the earth’s climate now fits into the history of the planet. We see that throughout history, scientists have taken the same data and come to very different conclusions. It is certainly happening today in regards to climate change.
Quote-
“In times of panic, whole groups of once dominant organisms can disappear or be relegated to secondary roles, almost as if the globe has undergone a cast change. Such wholesale losses have led paleontologists to surmise that during mass extinction events- in addition to the so-called Big Five, there have been many lesser such events- the usual rules of survival are suspended. Conditions change so drastically or so suddenly (or so drastically and so suddenly) that evolutionary history counts for little. Indeed, the very traits that have been most useful for dealing with ordinary threats may turn out, under such extraordinary circumstances, to be fatal.”
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