The Sixth Extinction

Elizabeth Kolbert

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZEONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALISTA 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 eyesOver 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.

Author's Note xi?Prologue 1?I: The Sixth Extinction 4?II: The Mastodon's Molars 23?III: The Original Penguin 47 ?IV: The Luck of the Ammonites 70?V: Welcome to the Anthropocene 92?VI: The Sea Around Us 111?VII: Dropping Acid 125?VIII: The Forest and the Trees 148?IX: Islands on Dry Land 173?X: The New Pangaea 193?XI: The Rhino Gets an Ultrasound 217?XII: The Madness Gene 236?XIII: The Thing with Feathers 259??Acknowledgments 273?Notes 277?Selected Bibliography 293?Photo/Illustration Credits 305?Index 307