The Sixth Extinction: Journeys Among the Lost and Left Behind

by Terry Glavin

The Sixth Extinction is a haunting account of the age in which we live. Ecologists are calling it the Sixth Great Extinction, and the world isn't losing just its ecological legacy; also vanishing is a vast human legacy of languages and our ways of living, seeing, and knowing.
Terry Glavin confirms that we are in the midst of a nearly unprecedented, catastrophic vanishing of animals, plants, and human cultures. He argues that the language of environmentalism is inadequate in describing the unraveling of the vast system in which all these extinctions are actually related. And he writes that we're no longer gaining knowledge with every generation. We're losing it.
In the face of what he describes as a dark and gathering sameness upon the Earth, Glavin embarks on a global journey to meet the very things we're losing (a distinct species every ten minutes, a unique vegetable variety every six hours, an entire language every two weeks) and on the way encounters some of the world's wonderful, rare a human-sized salmon in Russia; a mysterious Sino-Tibetan song-language; a Malayan tiger, the last of its kind; and a strange tomato that tastes just like black cherry ice cream. And he finds hope in the most unlikely places---a macaw roost in Costa Rica; a small village in Ireland; a relic community of Norse whalers in the North Atlantic; the vault beneath the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew; and the throne room of the Angh of Longwa in the eastern Himalayas.
A fresh narrative take on the usual doom and gloom environmentalism, The Sixth Extinction draws upon zoology, biology, ecology, anthropology, and mythology to share the joys hidden within the long human struggle to conserve the world's living things. Here, we find hope in what's the absolute and stunning beauty in the Earth's last cultures and creatures.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Environment, Biology

318 pages, Hardcover

First published April 3, 2007

Reviews

[Sue Merrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read much non fiction because it is too slow, and I admit I skimmed some parts in this book when it got dragged down with details, but mostly I loved this book . The facts are startling like the varieties of fish in the ocean a century ago versus the variety living there now. Or the variety of tomato seeds in a catalog of 50 years ago versus what you can buy today. But the places the author takes us to gather this information from fishing off the coast of Russia to a narrow piece of jungle between Burma and India, to the flowers and birds of the Amazon are fabulous. I love his love for people and the way he makes their worlds come alive. He has an agenda of course, he doesn't like the sameness that has resulted from the loss of so many plants and fish and birds. But he doesn't blame corporate greed or anyone in particular. He is careful to leave the final judgment up to us. Very rewarding read.

[Mireille Goulet · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I had read Waiting for the macaws by Terry Glavin and enjoyed it so much I got another book by him titled The lost and left behind, sitting down to read it... Turns out it was the exact, same book under a different title. I had not yet received the Sixth extinction, and checked the content... Identical! I cancelled the order. I find the tactic dishonest.

[Kathleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book. It was wordy and rambling. I gave up after reading about two chapters. There is another book with this title I liked much better.

[Josh Berthume · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is compelling and well-written and researched. I am glad I read it but I did not have a good time.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In the great vortex of extinction, there are always those cycles within cycles. There are ecological forces, cultural forces, and demographic forces." (p 256) Terry Glavin presents the citizen scientist/ environmentalist with a unique perspective on the state of our planet. By interweaving case studies and expanding beyond the stats, the reader is able to understand the political (however well-meaning) consequences, especially as they relate to cultural and language losses even to earth's farthest corners. Very thorough Notes at the end for further study. I was a little let down by the Epilogue. Otherwise, a solid 4.5 stars.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of these nature/ecology books seem like drawn-out magzine articles, but this one actaully had enough material to be full book. While this book talked about the mass extinction and rapid loss of biodiverstiy currently going on, it also hit the similiar loss of culture and diversity of food (there used to be thousands of different apple varieties, but now we're down to a few dozen). This was a good book and very readable, although the writing could have been a little more tighter and a stronger conclusion that better unified the chapters together.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

The topic is interesting, but I found the author's arguments not entirely convincing. He may have got it exactly right, but I was not specifically convinced by his presentations. I don't disagree that mass extinctions have occurred in Earth's past. In fact I strongly believe that simplistic answers like comets do a disservice to true detection of how and why mass die-offs happened. Sure the Iridium layer is there, but hundreds of dinosaur species were "pushing up the daisies" long before we were hit from space.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how Glavin pointed out the similarities between ecological extinctions and linguistic and cultural extinctions. He chose some fascinating examples, many of which I hadn't seen much about before even though I've read books with similar themes, and wrote about them engagingly. The focus on stories rather than statistics makes it a bit tougher to use as a reference in other arguments but makes the reader more likely to care about the points Glavin is making.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is relevant to the subject matter, but the thing that makes this book unique is that it answers the question: why care? We may encounter a lot of compelling data about threats to biodiversity, but it's really hard to relate it our own experience. That's best done through stories, and that's why it's very worthwhile to read a book written on the subject by a journalist rather than a scientist.

[Jennifer Chin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally enlightening, and extremely well written. If you've ever wanted to know anything about what's happening to the plants and animals in our planet, and also the role that humans and geological history has played on species and habitat loss, you MUST read this book. Does an amazing job of discussing many places, situations through first-hand reporting.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of semi-essays (I say semi because the DO ultimately link together to form a full story) exploring not only the precarious survival of several endangered animals, but also the survival of endangered cultures. It's not easy reading considering I haven't read a DAMNED thing in too long, but I am enjoying it.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief snapshot at the hypothesis that we are going through a sixth great extinction period, only to be exacerbated by global warming and increasing human population growth. If you want to know what overconsumption has done to the other critters we share this globe with, read this book!

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I like about this book is how it connects many types of extinctions. It treats extinctions of languages and cultures as importantly as extinctions of ecosystems and species. I think that's very cool and valuable.

[Mary Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Well written. I took copious notes from it. Glavin explains how extinctions are inter-related. When one thing in an ecosystem goes, others tend to follow. Human culture is not immune.

[Debra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the content; however, I found the writing style to be distracting, rambling, and disjointed. Very disappointing for a book I was so excited to read...maybe my expectations were too high. Overall, I thought it was just okay.

[Grillables · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting facts and ideas, but I found the style a little dry.

[Avi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 6.5. Scary and informative topic but it could have been written a little better.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is the current "anthropogenic" mass extinction different than the other five recorded in the geologic record? The answer is here, and the story of comparisons is fascinating.

[aldo zirsov · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Kel Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Glavin provides a fascinating and intriguing look at the current state of the planet Earth from several different angles. Wonderfully informative.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good cover of a difficult topic. The prose in places is lyrical. The author has a strange gift for choosing the right place to see a hard problem from.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought provoking book, exploring different aspects of environmental and cultural extinction.