The Sixth Extinction The Sixth Extinction

The Sixth Extinction

An Unnatural History

    • 4.2 • 563 Ratings
    • $12.99

Publisher Description

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

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 a 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 The Sixth Extinction, two-time winner of the National Magazine Award and New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert draws on the work of scores of researchers in half a dozen disciplines, accompanying many of them into the field: geologists who study deep ocean cores, botanists who follow the tree line as it climbs up the Andes, marine biologists who dive off the Great Barrier Reef. She introduces us to a dozen species, some already gone, others facing extinction, including the Panamian golden frog, staghorn coral, the great auk, and the Sumatran rhino.

Through these stories, Kolbert provides a moving account of the disappearances occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy; as Kolbert observes, it compels us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

GENRE
Science & Nature
RELEASED
2014
February 11
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
336
Pages
PUBLISHER
Henry Holt and Co.
SELLER
Macmillan
SIZE
20.2
MB

Customer Reviews

Gumshoe Sticky ,

The sixth extinction

Excellent mind wrapper about the nature of this the extinction caused by humans. With the demise of flora and fauna oddly there next to nothing about stopping the human catastrophe.

Satyamlo ,

Fascinating!

This is an important book for anyone interested in the past and future of human existence. Shouldn't we all? Elizabeth Kolbert scientific writing is very clear, but also entertaining. I never thought that a book about bones and dying species would keep me reading as if it were a thriller. Actually, the Sixth Extinction is a thriller since it deals with our own survival. This book should be required reading in high school or college. Well done, Ms. Kolbert.

patents again ,

the 6th extinction

Brilliantly written! logically tying together such a range of research and making logical sense is just remarkable. thanks for a great read.

The Song of the Dodo The Song of the Dodo
2011
Life Life
1998
Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature
2009
The World Without Us The World Without Us
2007
When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time (Revised edition) When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time (Revised edition)
2015
Beasts Before Us Beasts Before Us
2021
Under a White Sky Under a White Sky
2021
Field Notes from a Catastrophe Field Notes from a Catastrophe
2015
H Is for Hope H Is for Hope
2024
La sexta extinción La sexta extinción
2015
A sexta extinção A sexta extinção
2015
Bajo un cielo blanco Bajo un cielo blanco
2021
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
2018
The Uninhabitable Earth The Uninhabitable Earth
2019
Microeconomics: Introduction to Economics Microeconomics: Introduction to Economics
2013
An Immense World An Immense World
2022
Homo Deus Homo Deus
2017
Macroeconomics: Fiscal Policy Macroeconomics: Fiscal Policy
2013