The Sixth Extinction: Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind

Richard Leakey, One Of The World's??Foremost Experts On Man's Evolutionary Past, Now Turns??His Eye To The Future And Doesn't Like What He??Sees.

To the philosophical the??earth is eternal, while the human race -- presumptive??keeper of the world's history -- is a mere speck??in the rich stream of life. It is known that??nothing upon Earth is forever; geography, climate, and??plant and animal life are all subject to radical??change. On five occasions in the past, catastrophic??natural events have caused mass extinctions on??Earth. But today humans stand alone, in dubious??distinction, among Earth's species: Homo??Sapiens possesses the ability to destroy??entire species at will, to trigger the sixth??extinction in the history of life. In The Sixth??Extinction, Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin??consider how the grand sprawl of human life is??inexorably wreaking havoc around the world. The??authors of Origins and??Origins Reconsidered, unimpeachable??authorities on the human fossil record, turn their??attention to the most uncharted anthropological territory??of all: the future, and man's role in defining it.??According to Leakey and Lewin, man and his??surrounding species are end products of history and??chance. Now, however, humans have the unique??opportunity to recognize their influence on the global??ecosystem, and consciously steer the outcome in order??to avoid triggering an unimaginable upheaval.


From the Hardcover edition.