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    Summary and Analysis of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History: Based on the Book by Elizabeth Kolbert
    Summary and Analysis of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History: Based on the Book by Elizabeth Kolbert
    Summary and Analysis of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History: Based on the Book by Elizabeth Kolbert
    Ebook44 pages30 minutes

    Summary and Analysis of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History: Based on the Book by Elizabeth Kolbert

    By Worth Books

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    About this ebook

    So much to read, so little time? This brief overview of The Sixth Extinction tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Elizabeth Kolbert’s book.

    Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader.
     
    This short summary and analysis of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert includes:
    • Historical context
    • Chapter-by-chapter overviews
    • Detailed timeline of key events
    • Important quotes
    • Fascinating trivia
    • Glossary of terms
    • Supporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work
     
    About The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert:
     
    Our planet has endured five events of mass extinction, from centuries of catastrophic heating and cooling to the asteroid that fell to earth and ended the Cretaceous Period. We are currently facing the sixth extinction, and this time the human species is to blame.
     
    Elizabeth Kolbert travels the world and meets with scientists who are grappling with the ecological outcomes of human activity. Her Pulitzer Prize–winning modern science classic tells the stories of thirteen different species that have already disappeared or are on the brink of extinction as a result of human activity.
     
    A captivating blend of research and historical anecdotes enlightens readers about the unintentional consequences of our behaviors, from climate change and global warming to invasive species and overexploitation.
     
    The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateFeb 14, 2017
    ISBN9781504044172
    Summary and Analysis of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History: Based on the Book by Elizabeth Kolbert
    Author

    Worth Books

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      Book preview

      Summary and Analysis of The Sixth Extinction - Worth Books

      Contents

      Context

      Overview

      Summary

      Timeline

      Cast of Characters

      Direct Quotes and Analysis

      Trivia

      What’s That Word?

      Critical Response

      About Elizabeth Kolbert

      For Your Information

      Bibliography

      Copyright

      Context

      Elizabeth Kolbert travels the world to meet with scientists researching the ecological impact of human activity. As a staff writer for the New Yorker, Kolbert first wrote about humanity’s role in the extinction of Panama’s golden frog in 2009.

      Intended for the general reader, The Sixth Extinction serves as an urgent alarm about how the effects of man-made climate change and other outcomes of global trade and human activity are moving at an unstoppable pace. Kolbert synthesizes troves of research and historical anecdotes to wake up her readers to the unintentional consequences of our behaviors, from unprecedented carbon emissions and industrial agriculture to invasive species and overexploitation. Since the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring raised awareness of the ecological damage wrought by DDT, studies continue to show that the delicate balance of life on earth is nearing a point of no return. As decades keep passing with worsening global conditions, Kolbert aims to reframe these issues through the catastrophic lens they deserve.

      Overview

      We are living through one of the most unique events in earth’s history, significant enough to count among our planet’s rarest occurrences over the past 450 million years. Interestingly, we humans are causing this event—a mass extinction, the sixth of its kind. Every species on the planet has evolved over millennia in order to thrive in its natural environment alongside a host of other species. However, human activity from the Ice Age, through the Industrial Revolution, and up to today has created a set of highly unnatural global circumstances. Drawing on the work of numerous scientists, Elizabeth Kolbert presents thirteen species that have been directly impacted by an array of unintended, yet catastrophic, events.

      Humans are truly changing the shape of the world. Modern global trade and travel have allowed for flora and fauna from all corners of the world to be rearranged within the

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