Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions
"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 …
"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, dives into deep time, exploring each of Earth's five dead ends, and in the process, offers us a glimpse of what's to come. Using the visible clues these extinctions have left behind in the fossil record, The Ends of the World takes us inside the 'scenes of the crime,' from South Africa's Karoo Desert to the New York Palisades, to tell the story of each extinction. Brannen examines the fossil record--which is rife with fantastic creatures like dragonflies the size of seagulls and guillotine-mouthed fish--and introduces us to the researchers on the frontlines who, using the forensic tools of modern science, are piecing together what really happened at the sites of Earth's past devastations. As our civilization continues to test the wherewithal of our climate, we need to figure out where the hard limits are before it's too late. Part road trip, part history, and part cautionary tale, The Ends of the World takes us on a tour of the ways that our planet has clawed itself back from the grave, allowing us to better understand our future by shining a light on our past."--Jacket.
An enthralling sojourn through the annals of Earth's history.
An enthralling sojourn through the annals of Earth's history.
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.
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.
Great book on the five past mass extinctions since the Cambrian explosion 541 million years ago. There is some discussion on which kinds of animals dominated certain geological periods, but mostly it is an in depth discussion about the causes of the mass extinctions and interviews with researchers.
The main reason I like the book is simply that someone wrote a book on the subject of mass extinctions. Each mass extinction is discussed in a separate chapter, but the author isn't shy about drawing parallels or comparing the different events.
Brannen isn't a scientist so it certainly is filtered science. Which can be both good and bad. In this case I think it works great since he never assumes great knowledge on the part of the reader and he isn't invested in a decade of trench warfare which scientists in the field of the Cretaceous–Paleogen extinction event (the dinosaurs) seem …
Great book on the five past mass extinctions since the Cambrian explosion 541 million years ago. There is some discussion on which kinds of animals dominated certain geological periods, but mostly it is an in depth discussion about the causes of the mass extinctions and interviews with researchers.
The main reason I like the book is simply that someone wrote a book on the subject of mass extinctions. Each mass extinction is discussed in a separate chapter, but the author isn't shy about drawing parallels or comparing the different events.
Brannen isn't a scientist so it certainly is filtered science. Which can be both good and bad. In this case I think it works great since he never assumes great knowledge on the part of the reader and he isn't invested in a decade of trench warfare which scientists in the field of the Cretaceous–Paleogen extinction event (the dinosaurs) seem to be.
It certainly is the last book written on the subject and more informed books will come in the future. This is in no part the fault of the author though. It is simply that the field is so new and the answers so speculative that we can assume a lot of today's theories will be modified and quite possibly over-thrown.
And yeah, carbon dioxide... it is a h-lluva greenhouse gas!
Everyone should read this book. Everyone. Terrifying, captivating, masterfully crafted science writing.
