The Sixth Extinction

An Unnatural History

319 pages

English language

Published Jan. 5, 2014 by Henry Holt and Company.

ISBN:
978-0-8050-9299-8
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OCLC Number:
853618709

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4 stars (4 reviews)

From the author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe, a powerful and important work about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a compelling account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes.

9 editions

Review of 'The sixth extinction' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

After listening to the It Could Happen Here podcast, I was unable to find The Climate Leviathan or The Uninhabitable Earth at my library. I was able to pick up The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert (@ElizKolbert).

Kolbert briefly covers resistance to the idea of species extinction in uniformitarianism, the 5 extinctions in the geological record, and scientists who are studying the 6th extinction of the Anthropocene. Kolbert's fills the pages of 6th extinction with field journalism into frog extinction by chytrid fungi, coral reef destruction by ocean acidification, bat extinction by white nose syndrome, mass species extinction by the destruction of rainforest, and the extinction of large land mammals by human hunting. The grounding of her ideas in research done in the areas effected adds a great deal to the book.

If you don't fully understand the human threat to all other life on earth, this book provides a …

Review of 'The Sixth Extinction' on 'Import'

3 stars

A broad scope and interesting if grim topic, Kolbert explores the five previous major extinctions in the past, and creates observations on how the Anthropocene (the era where human beings are changing their environment) is creating a sixth major extinction. Some excellent research occasionally spoiled by overly simplistic journalistic writing that meanders aimlessly. Overall an interesting and accessible read, and a good introduction book to the Anthropocene.

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