The Ends of the World

Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions

322 pages

English language

Published Jan. 23, 2017

OCLC Number:
959036926

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5 stars (13 reviews)

"As new groundbreaking research suggests that climate change played a major role in the most extreme catastrophes in the planet's history, award-winning science journalist Peter Brannen takes us on a wild ride through the planet's five mass extinctions and, in the process, offers us a glimpse of our increasingly dangerous future."--

"A vivid tour of Earth's Big Five mass extinctions, the past worlds lost with each, and what they all can tell us about our not-too-distant future. Was it really an asteroid that killed the dinosaurs? Or carbon dioxide-driven climate change? In fact, scientists now suspect that climate change played a major role not only in the end of the age of dinosaurs, but also in each of the five most deadly mass extinctions in the history of the planet. Struck by the implications of this for our own future, Peter Brannen, along with some of the world's leading paleontologists, …

4 editions

Review of 'Ends of the World' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This is a very good and in depth introduction to the major extinction events throughout Earth's history, and the ideas that scientists right now think actually caused them. Of course the Cretaceous one that killed the dinosaurs is in here plus the Permian, but always great to hear about the others that aren't as well known. And not to mention that the author combines what happened in the past with what we are doing to the environment now, due to climate change by us.

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Subjects

  • Mass extinctions
  • Paleoclimatology
  • Climatic changes