The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

Winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction

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The writers your life won't be complete without.

In her Pulitzer Prize–winning book, The Sixth Extinction, New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert confronts what may well be the most compelling, portentous, and defining characteristic of our modernity: the nearly inconceivable and irretrievable loss of earth's biodiversity at the hands of our own species. Although earth has endured five mass extinctions over the last half-billion years — during which "the planet has undergone change so wrenching that the diversity of life has plummeted" — we now have the distinct and dubious honor of not only "witnessing one of the rarest events in life's history, [but] also causing it." Incisive, imperative, and full of shrewd reporting, Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction is a most significant and substantial work — one that foresees the calamity of our future and aims to forestall the most ignominious bequest imaginable. Recommended By Jeremy G., Powells.com

OVER THE LAST HALF-BILLION YEARS, there have been Five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. In prose that is at once frank, entertaining, and deeply informed, New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. Interweaving research in half a dozen disciplines, descriptions of the fascinating species that have already been lost, and the history of extinction as a concept, Kolbert provides a moving and comprehensive account of the disappearances occurring before our very eyes. She shows that the sixth extinction is likely to be mankinds most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

"Riveting....It is not possible to overstate the importance of Kolbert's book." San Francisco Chronicle

"Arresting....Ms. Kolbert shows in these pages that she can write with elegiac poetry about the vanishing creatures of this planet, but the real power of her book resides in the hard science and historical context she delivers here, documenting the mounting losses that human beings are leaving in their wake." The New York Times

"Surprisingly breezy, entirely engrossing, and frequently entertaining....Kolbert is a masterful, thought-provoking reporter." The Boston Globe

"Your view of the world will be fundamentally changed....Kolbert is an astute observer, excellent explainer, and superb synthesizer, and even manages to find humor in her subject matter." The Seattle Times

"Powerful....An invaluable contribution to our understanding." Al Gore, The New York Times Book Review

"[Kolbert] makes a page-turner out of even the most sober and scientifically demanding aspects of extinction.” New York Magazine

"Ms. Kolbert's lively account is thought-provoking." The Wall Street Journal

"[Kolbert] grounds her stories in rigorous science and memorable characters past and present, building a case that a mass extinction is underway, whether we want to admit it or not." Discover Magazine

"Throughout her extensive and passionately collected research, Kolbert offers a highly readable, enlightening report on the global and historical impact of humans...a highly significant eye-opener rich in facts and enjoyment." Kirkus (starred review)

"Kolbert accomplishes an amazing feat in her latest book, which superbly blends the depressing facts associated with rampant species extinctions and impending ecosystem collapse with stellar writing to produce a text that is accessible, witty, scientifically accurate, and impossible to put down." Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Rendered with rare, resolute, and resounding clarity, Kolbert's compelling and enlightening report forthrightly addresses the most significant topic of our lives." Booklist (starred review)

Elizabeth Kolbert is a staff writer at The New Yorker. She is the author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change. She lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts, with her husband and children.