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angelfireeast24's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Excrement, Gore, and Animal death
ehsan1358's review against another edition
5.0
از آن کتابهایی است بعد از خواندنش دیگه نمیشه مثل قبل زندگی کرد. کاش خواندنش برای همه اجباری بود
lenniex's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
daumari's review against another edition
Would've been the last book of 2015, but ended up being my first finish of 2016 (Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright got in the way...)
Through vignettes on various species, Kolbert illustrates the various ways humans are causing the holocene/anthropocene/sixth extinction. As a journalist, she takes a more personable approach to these species than dry publications do, and there's a sense of being at a wake with so many recent extinctions at our hand. The last chapter is entitled "A Thing With Feathers", invoking the quote about hope and mentioning some efforts like the cryozoos, the recovery of the California condor and bald eagles, etc., but I still got a sense of pessimism.
My opinion of this book is likely colored by the talk she gave in town, though, which is when I purchased this book... she went through a slideshow of species doomed and dying, with a "well, you already know about this..." description for most (it was a talk at a public university with a strong marine biology component).
TL;DR: well-written, contemporary account of current ecological crises with parallels to the "Big Five" extinctions of the past. Mildly depressing due to subject matter, but it is hopeful seeing so many people working on trying to solve various problems.
Through vignettes on various species, Kolbert illustrates the various ways humans are causing the holocene/anthropocene/sixth extinction. As a journalist, she takes a more personable approach to these species than dry publications do, and there's a sense of being at a wake with so many recent extinctions at our hand. The last chapter is entitled "A Thing With Feathers", invoking the quote about hope and mentioning some efforts like the cryozoos, the recovery of the California condor and bald eagles, etc., but I still got a sense of pessimism.
My opinion of this book is likely colored by the talk she gave in town, though, which is when I purchased this book... she went through a slideshow of species doomed and dying, with a "well, you already know about this..." description for most (it was a talk at a public university with a strong marine biology component).
TL;DR: well-written, contemporary account of current ecological crises with parallels to the "Big Five" extinctions of the past. Mildly depressing due to subject matter, but it is hopeful seeing so many people working on trying to solve various problems.
superblyfeatured's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.5