It's not the most cohesive book. It reads like a collection of essays that forms a snapshot of where we are at the moment as we struggle to understand the ramifications of our previous attempts to correct nature but also, with climate change looming over us, face the undeniable necessity that we form new plans to make yet more attempts to avert global disaster. The people we meet and the plans they have are all fascinating, but the real strength of the book is the refusal to either condemn or champion anything. Kolbert remains a skeptic not only about whether we still have a chance to correct anything in terms of extinction or climate change, but also whether we have the right to continue meddling when we've only managed to make things worse with our efforts.