Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by jjp723
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
5.0
Un-put-downable (is that a word). And the main reason it's that way is the Kolbert just tells the story, without sugar-coating anything or wrapping everything up with an "it's all going to be ok!" chapter - which isn't to say that it isn't written without moments of humor or grace, but that it tells the truth.
It is fascinating to look back at the previous five major extinctions and make the comparisons between those and the one currently occurring, the main difference being that the other were caused by events that did not having anything to do with humankind. I know there's endless controversy about this fact and some things of course are muddy (is it travel that is causing the spread of the amphibian fungus, or white nose syndrome in bats? I don't know) but it's pretty clear that rhinos aren't shooting themselves (side rant: maybe we should all get together and send our fingernail clippings to all those who think rhino horn has some sort of magical powers ... it's the same stuff, dumbasses) and the Neanderthals didn't decide en masse to off themselves (altho I really have to admire how a large number of us carry their genes - sneaky!)
All this said, this book is not all gloom and doom. There are people who care and who may be able to make a difference. I think the main thing to take from this book is to think about how we are all putting the planet in peril just because of greed, of the wish to have more and more, most of which doesn't even make us happy. Pretty sad when you think about it.
Very highly recommended.
It is fascinating to look back at the previous five major extinctions and make the comparisons between those and the one currently occurring, the main difference being that the other were caused by events that did not having anything to do with humankind. I know there's endless controversy about this fact and some things of course are muddy (is it travel that is causing the spread of the amphibian fungus, or white nose syndrome in bats? I don't know) but it's pretty clear that rhinos aren't shooting themselves (side rant: maybe we should all get together and send our fingernail clippings to all those who think rhino horn has some sort of magical powers ... it's the same stuff, dumbasses) and the Neanderthals didn't decide en masse to off themselves (altho I really have to admire how a large number of us carry their genes - sneaky!)
All this said, this book is not all gloom and doom. There are people who care and who may be able to make a difference. I think the main thing to take from this book is to think about how we are all putting the planet in peril just because of greed, of the wish to have more and more, most of which doesn't even make us happy. Pretty sad when you think about it.
Very highly recommended.