The Sixth Extinction

About This Book

WINNER OF THE 2015 PULITZER PRIZE FOR GENERAL NON-FICTION. "An invaluable contribution to our understanding of present circumstances, just as the paradigm shift she calls for is sorely needed" - Al Gore, New York Times. "Compelling ... It is a disquieting tale, related with rigour and restraint by Kolbert" - Observer. "Passionate ... This is the big story of our age" - Sunday Times. This book blends natural history, field reporting, and the history of ideas into a powerful account of the mass extinction currently happening. Over the last half billion years, there have been five mass extinctions. Scientists are monitoring the sixth, predicted to be the most devastating since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. Kolbert combines brilliant field reporting with the work of geologists, botanists, and marine biologists to tell gripping stories of various species, some already gone, others on the brink of extinction. The book compels us to rethink what it means to be human.