The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions - Hardcover

Brannen, Peter

4.3

5,420 ratings by Goodreads

9781786070074: The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1786070073 ISBN 13: 9781786070074

Publisher: Oneworld Publications, 2017

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Apocalypse, now?

Death by fire, ice, poison gas, suffocation, asteroid. At five moments through history life on Earth was dragged to the very edge of extinction.

Now, armed with revolutionary technology, scientists are uncovering clues about what caused these catastrophes. Deep-diving into past worlds of dragonflies the size of seagulls and fishes with guillotines for mouths, they explore how – against all the odds – life survived and what these ominous chapters can tell us about our future.

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Product Description:

At five moments in our planets history, catastrophic events caused mass extinctions, when more than half of its species were lost. New technologies now enable scientists both to study these ancient disasters and to predict what lies ahead in a new phase of habitat destruction and climate change. Ranging across half a billion years, from the fossil records extraordinary creatures to todays coral reefs, this book explains these new, urgent insights into Earths fragile ecosystems.

Review:

'His evocative prose brings the “incomprehensible eternities” of ancient history vividly alive...A remarkable journey into the deep past that has much to teach us about the future of our planet.'

(Guardian)

‘Gripping... Brannen excels at evoking lost worlds.’

(The New Yorker)

‘Fascinating.’

(The Economist)

‘A book about one apocalypse – much less five – could have been a daunting read, were it not for the wit, lyricism, and clarity that Peter Brannen brings to every page. He is a storyteller at the height of his powers, and he has found a story worth telling.’

(Ed Yong, author of I Contain Multitudes)

‘An exciting detective story venturing into the extraordinary worlds of our Earth’s past to discover what caused them to end. Brannen describes unimaginable floods, planet-scale catastrophes and incredible creatures that were once common. A cautionary tale for the future of our human age.’

(Gaia Vince, author of Adventures in the Anthropocene)

‘[Brannen] is a companionable guide, as good at breathing life into the fossilized prose of scientific papers as he is at conjuring the Ordovician reign of the nautiloids.’

(New York Times Book Review)

‘Urgent, compelling and beautifully written, Peter Brannen brings immense geological timescales sharply into focus, forcing us to reflect on humanity’s brief but potent impact on the planet through the lens of deep time. Whether through fascination with the ancient past or grim fear for our future, The Ends of the Worlds is essential reading.’

(Kat Arney, science writer and broadcaster)

‘If readers have time for only one book on the subject, this wonderfully written, well-balanced, and intricately researched (though not too dense) selection is the one to choose.’

(Library Journal, starred review)

‘A vivid, fascinating story about all the past and future lives of our planet. Peter Brannen has the knack of opening up new worlds under our feet.’

(Michael Pye, author of The Edge of the World)

‘History repeats itself, the first time as a tragedy, the second as farce. Human history, that is. But the history of life on planet Earth only ever repeats as tragedy, as Peter Brannen explains in this powerful and unsettling book. The Ends of the World recounts the breath-taking stories of the five mass extinctions that have punctuated and diverted the course of evolution. Its vertiginous sense of the awful fragility of living things will never leave you, not least because humanity may now be writing the ultimate end of Brannen’s riveting tale.’

(Stephen Curry, professor of structural biology, Imperial College)

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