This book tells the story of some groups of plants and animals from different locations around the world that have either become extinct or are at risk. It explains how this is caused by humans in several ways, which are acting together to give rates of extinction that are higher than just adding the the individual effects.
I wouldn't have finished this except I was reading for a book club. I found the writing annoying at times. This book could have used a good editor. There are too many sentences (which were all through the book) with asides in parentheses, too many irrelevant "facts" such as the closing time of the cafeteria at the museum that the author is visiting.
There are also annoyances such as temperatures in degrees. Which kind? Celsius? Probably not, the author is American.
On the other hand, there are some interesting stories that show how some kinds of researchers do their work, and many of the facts about the species we are losing, and the probably causes, are accompanied with some ecology theory so that the reader can better understand the reasons.
I expected the ending to sum things up and have some kind of call to action, but it seemed to just end with a shrug. "Maybe humans will survive, maybe we won't and it's a pity we will leave such and awful legacy".