From Library Journal
Ward (geologic sciences, zoology, paleontology, Univ. of Washington, Seattle; The Call of Distant Mammoths) counters the majority of scientists who predict the extinction of our species as the price for the harm we've inflicted on our environment and on species worldwide. The future he forecasts is more chilling; Ward states unequivocally that humans are virtually "extinction-proof" owing to their ability to alter environmental conditions and insulate themselves from adverse conditions that affect every other species. Describing mass extinction as the primary catalyst for evolutionary change throughout our planet's history, the author makes a compelling case that we are well into the extinction phase of the Age of Megamammals and that future evolution will be seriously hampered by the lack of species diversity. He also foresees humankind's evolving alongside machines, in company with genetically altered plants that will infest the world as weeds and cloned animal species devoid of any evolutionary spark. Written in accessible prose by an expert in extinction theory with 37 color illustrations by top science illustrator Rockman, this book is highly recommended for its unique viewpoint and synthesis of scientific data. For public and academic libraries. Gloria Maxwell, Penn Valley Community Coll., Kansas City, MO
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Booklist
To know where you are going, it helps to know where you have been. So evolutionary prophet Ward explains the two earlier mass extinctions before positing that the present era is the end of a third mass extinction; he then forecasts recovery from it and imagines the end of earthly life. The first great die-off, 250 million years ago, was the largest, and after it no anatomically discrete new group of animals arose. Life recovered, and dinosaurs flourished, only to be terminated 65 million years ago. Life recovered again, and large mammals evolved until the end of the Ice Age, when they began failing in a nearly concluded extinction event. The future belongs to humans, domestic animals, and species, mostly birds and small mammals, that successfully coexist with humans. If humans die out--and Ward says no single catastrophe could bring this about--maybe an age of birds will develop. More likely, people will last to the bitter end, living underground to avoid a superheated atmosphere, unless off-planet colonization becomes a reality. Lively scientific prognostication that is appositely, amusingly illustrated, too. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
