Title: The Sixth Extinction

Author: Elizabeth Kolbert

Publisher: Henry Holt 2014

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 319

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); ebook;

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.

A fascinating look at the ongoing possible Sixth Extinction. While I have a decent knowledge of the previous five extinctions and have read articles about the current one, it was a nice refresher course of information. I enjoyed the related stories about specific species more. Those are where the book shines. The detailed accounts of the rise and fall of certain species helps to tie the distant past to today. My favorite was a discussion about the now extinct auks. I know I've seen a stuffed one in some museum I have visited and wondered what they were. Now I know more about them and their demise. Overall, an accessible discussion of the past and possible future.