A review by rossbm
The 6th Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
4.0
(listened as audiobook)
What's it about?
It's a non-fiction book about the extinctions caused by humans. It's mostly told as a series of stories, rather than laying out arguments or facts. About a third of the book are the author's personal accounts and interviews, with the other third being historical scientific stories that are interleaved.
What did I think?
I enjoyed listening to the book. The stories were pretty engaging and helped me better understand the extent of the impact that we (as in humans) are having on the climate, in particular the different species. However, I don't feel like I am taking away too much from this book. I was already aware that a lot of species are dying out, but the book doesn't do a great job of imparting why this matters.
Obviously, it's tragic that thousands of species have already gone extinct due to humans, and thousands more will also. We losing diversity and the possibility of experiencing the full wonder of what nature can offer. However, it seems to pale in comparison to human suffering that is ongoing. Also, as the book makes clear, larger extinction events have happened in the past. Nature is pretty adaptable. I'm more worried about about the impact that a nuclear war would have on both humans and the planet.
What's it about?
It's a non-fiction book about the extinctions caused by humans. It's mostly told as a series of stories, rather than laying out arguments or facts. About a third of the book are the author's personal accounts and interviews, with the other third being historical scientific stories that are interleaved.
What did I think?
I enjoyed listening to the book. The stories were pretty engaging and helped me better understand the extent of the impact that we (as in humans) are having on the climate, in particular the different species. However, I don't feel like I am taking away too much from this book. I was already aware that a lot of species are dying out, but the book doesn't do a great job of imparting why this matters.
Obviously, it's tragic that thousands of species have already gone extinct due to humans, and thousands more will also. We losing diversity and the possibility of experiencing the full wonder of what nature can offer. However, it seems to pale in comparison to human suffering that is ongoing. Also, as the book makes clear, larger extinction events have happened in the past. Nature is pretty adaptable. I'm more worried about about the impact that a nuclear war would have on both humans and the planet.