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The sixth extinction : an unnatural history / Elizabeth Kolbert.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2014Edition: First editionDescription: 319 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780805092998 (hardback) :
  • 0805092994 (hardback)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 576.8/4 23
LOC classification:
  • QE721.2.E97 K65 2014
Online resources:
Contents:
The sixth extinction -- The mastodon's molars -- The original penguin -- The luck of the ammonites -- Welcome to the Anthropocene -- The sea around us -- Dropping acid -- The forest and the trees -- Islands on dry land -- The new Pangaea -- The rhino gets an ultrasound -- The madness gene -- The thing with feathers.
Summary: 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, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
BOOK Meaford Public Library Non-Fiction 576 .84 Kolbe (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 96630
Total holds: 0

Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-304) and index.

The sixth extinction -- The mastodon's molars -- The original penguin -- The luck of the ammonites -- Welcome to the Anthropocene -- The sea around us -- Dropping acid -- The forest and the trees -- Islands on dry land -- The new Pangaea -- The rhino gets an ultrasound -- The madness gene -- The thing with feathers.

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, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

Patron comment on 05/26/2016

Excellent, very-readable book. Broadly, the authoress looks at what is happening with the ongoing extinction of species in what is now termed the Anthropocene -- the human-activity environment that encompasses the earth today—and comparing this to what is known of the five great extinction events recorded in earth’s geological record. Sounds like dry stuff, but it is not. Kolbert is an upbeat, often witty, writer who never proselytizes and stays away from alarmist language. In her account she tours a number of ecological study sites and institutions around the world meeting various experts and assesses the key factors contributing to the rapid rate of species extinction. There are some heartbreaking passages about lonely animals, the last of their kind. It topped The Guardian newspaper’s recent list (2016) of the 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All Time. Although I agree that it is an excellent book, I think this rating may be a bit of stretch. Perhaps some see it as comparable to Rachel Carson’s seminal work “Silent Spring”, and at a time when the environmental movement seems to be fractured and coopted by vested interests there is a great desire to find a focal point as Carson did in the 1960’s.

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