The sixth extinction : an unnatural history

The Resource The sixth extinction : an unnatural history
Label
The sixth extinction : an unnatural history
Title remainder
an unnatural history
Statement of responsibility
Elizabeth Kolbert
Creator
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
Over the last half billion years, there have been five major mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around the cataclysm is us. In this book the author tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. She provides a moving account of the disappearances of various species occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up to Lyell and Darwin, and through the present day. 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 description
Awards note
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, 2015 finalist
Cataloging source
DLC
Dewey number
576.8/4
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
QE721.2.E97
LC item number
K65 2014
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
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