Extinction Dialogs: How to Live With Death In Mind

by Carolyn Baker

Extinction How to Live with Death in Mind is a candid conversation between Guy McPherson and Carolyn Baker. The text addresses the scientific research regarding abrupt climate change as well as how humans who grasp the likelihood of near-term human extinction can prepare emotionally and spiritually for the demise of many species on Earth, including ours. Synthesizing scientific and psycho-spiritual perspectives, McPherson and Baker provide a manual for understanding our terminal status and therefore allow this knowledge to shape every aspect of our relationships and behavior in humanity's last hours.

Genres: Nonfiction

98 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2014

Reviews

[P.S. Carrillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am giving this courageous book only four stars because it is so deeply disturbing that any great praise could only label me sadistic. Necessary reading, it is, but maybe blissful ignorance for a while longer would be kinder. I have followed Guy McPherson's work for only a few months and it has led me to investigate other scientists with similar if not more urgent warnings about the impending collapse of the environment as we depend upon it. My only advice, since I am well into middle age and don't have much invested in the future with no children of my own, is that we must stop procreating humans and domesticated animals immediately. What madness to see pregnant women in a society where this dire information is readily available. I take comfort in the writings of Miguel De Unamuno. He was a existentialist Catholic who lived with death always in mind. Thankfully I was acquainted with his work before delving into the hard science of climate change. The last words of Unamuno' s classic series of essays, Tragic Sense of Life, states: May God deny you peace, but give you glory. Words to live and die by.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

brb too busy trying not to panic

[Anthony Gerst · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book for dealing with the issue of Near Term Extinction event brought about by anthropocentric activities. The calthrate gun is close to going off and we are past the methane tipping point regarding land-based emissions.

[Raivo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realism at it’s finest. Aswell as an introduction into the process known as grief recovery.

Would be interesting to see how the perspectives would have evolved, if an updated book was published now, almost a decade later.

[Clivemichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly disturbing with suggestions for moving forward. Some repetitve text or poor editing.

[Bart Everson]

Not what I expected. I thought this book was about confronting the fact that we are living through a major extinction event. (See The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History) It is that, in part, but its more central focus is confronting something called near-term human extinction. That's right, the authors believe the human race will be extinct in a decade or two. Kind of a shocker. I ended up only skimming the book. I'm skeptical of this premise, but this book is not aimed at convincing me. There is a chapter which purports to overview the science, but the book is mostly about confronting the emotional, psychological, and spiritual ramifications. It's interesting, and worthy of consideration whatever one's opinion on our near-term prospects. After all, as far as we know, all organisms eventually die, and all species eventually become extinct. It's hard enough for some of us to confront the first fact, but when do we ever even contemplate the second? I think that is a worthwhile investigation. However I couldn't get past the near-term thing. That's worthy of consideration, too, but as noted this book isn't the best starting point.

[Edmund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not for the faint of heart, as the title implies, but eminently worth reading.

[João Abegão · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only part that really matters for me is Chapter 2, which is a quick guide for the science of Abrupt Climate Change that I want to evaluate. The rest seems too much like a new found religion.