--- product_id: 235198 title: "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History" price: "526 kr" currency: NOK in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.no/products/235198-the-sixth-extinction-an-unnatural-history store_origin: NO region: Norway --- # The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History **Price:** 526 kr **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History - **How much does it cost?** 526 kr with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.no](https://www.desertcart.no/products/235198-the-sixth-extinction-an-unnatural-history) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST A major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. In The Sixth Extinction , two-time winner of the National Magazine Award and New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert draws on the work of scores of researchers in half a dozen disciplines, accompanying many of them into the field: geologists who study deep ocean cores, botanists who follow the tree line as it climbs up the Andes, marine biologists who dive off the Great Barrier Reef. She introduces us to a dozen species, some already gone, others facing extinction, including the Panamian golden frog, staghorn coral, the great auk, and the Sumatran rhino. Through these stories, Kolbert provides a moving account of the disappearances occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind's most lasting legacy; as Kolbert observes, it compels us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human. Review: Beautifully Written, Carefully Researched, and Incredibly Well Thought Out - I bought this book because I was impressed with how well Elizabeth Kolbert managed her interview with John Stewart on the Daily Show and suspected I was in for a great read based on her work in "The New Yorker". Even with such high expectations I was still stunned by the beautiful craftsmanship this book represents. This is not another global warming book. Kolbert walks us through many other examples of ways in which human presence on the planet has changed the rules in ways that make it difficult, if not impossible, for other life forms to survive their encounter with us. Things like predation by early hominids, and the global transport of pathogens are also major human contributed forces that are responsible for the current acceleration of extinction events. Another thing that I think Kolbert does a good job of explaining is the concept of "instantaneous" events on the scale of geologic time. Extinction events that may stretch over a few thousand years are quick in terms of the process of evolution. Many times we humans have a hard time grasping the significance of events that happen on time scales that are significantly longer than our own life spans,. I feel that Kolbert did an excellent job of addressing this issue from many directions. She started with the fundamental realization by early investigators, like Cuvier, that the evidence pointed to extinction as an obvious explanation of observed evidence (i.e., the fossil record). By its very nature paleontology is a science with more questions than answers. The fossil record is not complete. If it were the evidence would be less credible. But the big game changer is in the area of paleogenetics that takes advantage of the fact that each and every living thing on the planet carries a much more complete record of evolutionary history than the few bones and other body parts that have been fortuitously preserved in geologic layers that are occasionally pushed up where we can find them. In my opinion Kolbert went to the right source to make her case for the power of paleogenetics when she managed to hang around with Svante Paabo at the Max Plank Institute. Many of us consider Paabo the father of paleogenetics. I heard him speak a dozen years ago at a scientific meeting in Edinburgh and was stunned by the power of what he was doing. At the time I remember thinking how much fun it would be to share a beer with him but now the experience would not be as good if Eizabeth Kolbert were not tagging along to ask the good questions. This is not a book that preaches about the terrifying future we are creating for ourselves and our fellow earthlings. Kolbert lets the facts speak for themselves and puts enough effort into the story that her readers can not help but come to the logical conclusion because she has helped them understand the issues rather than just taking her word for it. . Review: A Must Read - Six extinction is a new concept that this book brought to my attention. While knowledgable regarding global warming I had little understanding of extinctions that have already taken place. I was aware of bats in the US in decline, but not aware that a disease has totally wiped them out across the U.S. Likewise I was aware of problems with some frogs becoming extinct, but not aware that frogs have already become extinct worldwide. Nor did I know some of the science of how coral reefs are impacted. Kolbert does a very good job reviewing previous extinctions, explaining the science behind current extinctions, and the potential for a sixth extinction due to human activitiy. Kolbert's writing style for The Sixth Extinction is personal interactions and discussions with researchers in locations throughout the world. Her approach is engaging, highly personalized, and detailed whle keeping the reader focused on the big picture. I found the Sixth Extinction to be a quick, easy read, and left me wanting to know more. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #390,410 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #4 in Endangered Species (Books) #12 in Natural History (Books) #12 in Ecology (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 10,561 Reviews | ## Images ![The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81+ujuQEvSL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Language, Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautifully Written, Carefully Researched, and Incredibly Well Thought Out *by J***N on February 20, 2014* I bought this book because I was impressed with how well Elizabeth Kolbert managed her interview with John Stewart on the Daily Show and suspected I was in for a great read based on her work in "The New Yorker". Even with such high expectations I was still stunned by the beautiful craftsmanship this book represents. This is not another global warming book. Kolbert walks us through many other examples of ways in which human presence on the planet has changed the rules in ways that make it difficult, if not impossible, for other life forms to survive their encounter with us. Things like predation by early hominids, and the global transport of pathogens are also major human contributed forces that are responsible for the current acceleration of extinction events. Another thing that I think Kolbert does a good job of explaining is the concept of "instantaneous" events on the scale of geologic time. Extinction events that may stretch over a few thousand years are quick in terms of the process of evolution. Many times we humans have a hard time grasping the significance of events that happen on time scales that are significantly longer than our own life spans,. I feel that Kolbert did an excellent job of addressing this issue from many directions. She started with the fundamental realization by early investigators, like Cuvier, that the evidence pointed to extinction as an obvious explanation of observed evidence (i.e., the fossil record). By its very nature paleontology is a science with more questions than answers. The fossil record is not complete. If it were the evidence would be less credible. But the big game changer is in the area of paleogenetics that takes advantage of the fact that each and every living thing on the planet carries a much more complete record of evolutionary history than the few bones and other body parts that have been fortuitously preserved in geologic layers that are occasionally pushed up where we can find them. In my opinion Kolbert went to the right source to make her case for the power of paleogenetics when she managed to hang around with Svante Paabo at the Max Plank Institute. Many of us consider Paabo the father of paleogenetics. I heard him speak a dozen years ago at a scientific meeting in Edinburgh and was stunned by the power of what he was doing. At the time I remember thinking how much fun it would be to share a beer with him but now the experience would not be as good if Eizabeth Kolbert were not tagging along to ask the good questions. This is not a book that preaches about the terrifying future we are creating for ourselves and our fellow earthlings. Kolbert lets the facts speak for themselves and puts enough effort into the story that her readers can not help but come to the logical conclusion because she has helped them understand the issues rather than just taking her word for it. . ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Must Read *by H***N on August 27, 2015* Six extinction is a new concept that this book brought to my attention. While knowledgable regarding global warming I had little understanding of extinctions that have already taken place. I was aware of bats in the US in decline, but not aware that a disease has totally wiped them out across the U.S. Likewise I was aware of problems with some frogs becoming extinct, but not aware that frogs have already become extinct worldwide. Nor did I know some of the science of how coral reefs are impacted. Kolbert does a very good job reviewing previous extinctions, explaining the science behind current extinctions, and the potential for a sixth extinction due to human activitiy. Kolbert's writing style for The Sixth Extinction is personal interactions and discussions with researchers in locations throughout the world. Her approach is engaging, highly personalized, and detailed whle keeping the reader focused on the big picture. I found the Sixth Extinction to be a quick, easy read, and left me wanting to know more. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Sobering Yet Essential Read *by M***R on March 12, 2014* "When the world changes faster than species can adapt, many fall out. This is the case whether the agent of change drops from the sky in a fiery streak or drives to work in a Honda. To argue that the current extinction event could be averted if people just cared more and were willing to make more sacrifices is not wrong, exactly, but it misses the point. It doesn't matter much whether people care or don't care. What matters is that people change the world." Thus is the premise and sad reality stated in Elizabeth Kolbert's "The Sixth Extinction." Part travel log, part history of the world and part zoological introduction to some wondrous creatures, yet at all times a sobering look at what "one weedy species" (mankind) has done to our fair planet, Kolbert's book is a must read for anyone interested in knowing what the not too distant future holds. I saw Kolbert interviewed on Jon Stewart about a month ago and became intrigued by this book. After a couple of entertaining novels featuring shady characters and twisting plot lines I was ready for a different kind of reading experience. "The Sixth Extinction" was not as laborious a read as I feared. Kolbert keeps the writing brisk and the science light. And she takes us around the world as she visits places as diverse as the Coral Reefs off Australia, bat caves in New England and an island off the coast of Italy. Along the way we meet some splendid creatures, many of whom are already extinct or well on their way. Plus we learn the history of the first five mass extinctions, how they happened and just as importantly how scientists have been able to figure out how something that happened hundreds of millions of years ago took place. The part of the book that I found most surprising is that it's not just climate change and extreme hunting that has killed off so many species. It is the movement of man around the world (and the introduction of new species into a region where they never existed that this movement allows) that has threatened so many creatures. The book opens with the case of frogs in a South America who are dying off at an alarming rate due to a fungi that was introduced into the forests of Panama just a few years ago. The fungi is from Asia where the amphibians have evolved through the millennia to be immune from it. But in South America, the frogs never needed whatever mutation Asian frogs have and thus many species there (which are hundreds of millions of years old) have become extinct. Similar situations are happening to the bat population in the US and many other creatures. And that, as Kolbert points out is why all the "Save the Whales" movements in the world will not completely stop this sixth extinction. Kolbert also gracefully spells out the irony of man, how so many of our actions lead to these latest extinctions - yet how so many work so diligently to avoid them. (The scientist giving a handjob to a crow to extract semen being perhaps the clearest example of this "diligent" work). Ultimately the book cannot answer the question that surely every reader has: will we (mankind) alter the world to such a degree that even we become extinct? Will we create an environment that no longer supports us? Or will we, as history's greatest innovators, continue to find a way to save ourselves (even if as the book says that means establishing communities in space should earth someday become unlivable). Surely this situation will not happen in our lifetime, and probably not in our children's lifetimes or their children's lifetimes. Thousands of years are immense when measured by man. In earth time, they are but a blink of an eye. If you want an interesting book, a readable story with some amazing insights, I'd highly recommend "The Sixth Extinction." Meanwhile I'm going to bury my head back in the sand and return to novels with shady characters. Even when the endings are depressing they aren't this depressing. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.no/products/235198-the-sixth-extinction-an-unnatural-history](https://www.desertcart.no/products/235198-the-sixth-extinction-an-unnatural-history) --- *Product available on Desertcart Norway* *Store origin: NO* *Last updated: 2026-10-12*