Read Women discussion

Our November's non-fiction theme is Natural History/Nature Writing and the book we will be reading is The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert

The Book (adapted from wikipedia)
The Sixth Extinction argues that the Earth is in the midst of a modern, man-made, sixth extinction. Kolbert chronicles previous mass extinction events, and compares them to the accelerated, widespread extinctions during our present time. She also describes specific species extinguished by humans, as well as the ecologies surrounding prehistoric and near-present extinction events. The author received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for the book in 2015.
The target audience is the general reader, and scientific descriptions are rendered in understandable prose. The writing blends explanations of her treks to remote areas with interviews of scientists, researchers, and guides. The sixth mass extinction theme is applied to flora and fauna existing in diverse habitats, such as the Panamanian rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef, the Andes, Bikini Atoll, city zoos, and the author's own backyard. After researching the current mainstream view of the relevant peer reviewed science, Kolbert estimates flora and fauna loss by the end of the 21st century to be between 20% to 50% "of all living species on earth"

The Author
Elizabeth Kolbert is an American journalist and author and visiting fellow at Williams College. She is best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, and as an observer and commentator on environmentalism for The New Yorker magazine As of March 2017, Kolbert serves as a member of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist's Science and Security Board.

Have to say, I'm really happy this one won the poll. I'm a chapter in now and will be taking it on holiday with me, but so far I'm enjoying it.

I don't think I've been told anything yet that I didn't already know (as someone with an existing interest in natural history) but everything's been presented well and I like the writing style so far.

I totally agree with Louise - I'm only half way through but finding it very well-written and "enjoyable" to read (enjoyable doesn't feel like the appropriate adjective considering the destruction described). I was worried this would be very science-journalisty, full of grand claims and over-generalisations, and focusing on cute mammals. The Sixth Extinction is more of an account of Kolbert's exploration of the topic, relating the voices of the scientists working in diverse parts of the globe and with varying specialisms, weaving them together neatly.
I really appreciate her focus on the "small" diversity (fungi, insects...) which often gets ignored even though it is where most of the biodiversity can be found and where it is most crucial. Another point which I think she does very well is showing how science is not a series of lone geniuses but rather intricate exchanges and discussions leading to paradigm shifts - I feel that this is often forgotten in "popular science" in schools and magazine/newspapers (especially in the case of Darwin for instance).

I read this last year and it was compelling and depressing. It has science that backs up what she is saying but is also easy for everyone without a science background to understand. It was scary to read that humans are causing mass extinctions without trying or being aware that we are doing so in many cases. Our ease of movement worldwide is spreading plants and animals/insects/reptiles in a way that could never have happened otherwise. This spreading of species is terribly beneficial to some and devastating to others. It seems incredible, in some ways, that we may be responsible for wiping the human species off the Earth without nuclear weapons or a super flu or some similar large-scale catastrophe. It may be the small things we do that add up eventually to an unsustainable world for us and so many of our fellow species.

I can count the number of non-fiction books I've read on one hand and I've read absolutely none on Natural History.

I found this book educating yet depressing, and it was hard for me to feel motivated to keep reading. I hope we quickly find a way to heal the destruction we've created and build a better future or ourselves and all the life of which we've endangered.