The sixth extinction : an unnatural history / Elizabeth Kolbert.
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. -- Publisher's description
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. -- Review from goodreads.com website.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780805092998
- Physical Description: [III], 319 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
- Publisher: New York : Henry Holt and Co., 2014.
Content descriptions
General Note: | CatMonthString:may.14 |
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-304) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | I: The sixth extinction -- II: The Mastodon's molars -- III. The original penguin -- IV: The luck of the ammonites -- V: Welcome to the anthropocene -- VI: The sea around us -- VII: Dropping acid -- VIII: The forest and the trees -- IX: Islands on dry land -- X: The new Pangaea -- XI: The rhino gets an ultrasound -- XII: The madness gene -- XIII: The thing with white feathers |
Awards Note: | WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE A NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Mass extinctions. Extinction (Biology) Environmental disasters. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Camosun College Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Circulation Modifier | Holdable? | Status | Due Date | Courses |
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Lansdowne Library | QE 721.2 E97 K65 2014 (Text) | 26040002999627 | Main Collection | Volume hold | Available | - |