A Natural History of the Future
What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species
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A Natural History of the Future
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Narrated by:
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Donald Chang
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Written by:
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Rob Dunn
About this listen
A leading ecologist argues that if humankind is to survive on a fragile planet, we must understand and obey its iron laws.
Our species has amassed unprecedented knowledge of nature, which we have tried to use to seize control of life and bend the planet to our will. In A Natural History of the Future, biologist Rob Dunn argues that such efforts are futile. We may see ourselves as life’s overlords, but we are instead at its mercy. In the evolution of antibiotic resistance, the power of natural selection to create biodiversity, and even the surprising life of the London Underground, Dunn finds laws of life that no human activity can annul. When we create artificial islands of crops, dump toxic waste, or build communities, we provide new materials for old laws to shape. Life’s future flourishing is not in question. Ours is.
As ambitious as Edward Wilson’s Sociobiology and as timely as Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction, A Natural History of the Future sets a new standard for understanding the diversity and destiny of life itself.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 Rob Dunn (P)2021 Basic BooksWhat the critics say
“A fascinating, shocking, and inspiring guide to the future by one of the most creative and eloquent biologists of our time. Dunn’s book is packed full of insight from the latest scientific discoveries about the wonders and troubles of the living Earth.” (David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen)
“Speciations in weird urban habitats, viruses chasing hosts around the globe, and the greatest challenge life on Earth has faced for two million years: this is the fascinating and sobering ecology of the Anthropocene.” (Rebecca Wragg Sykes, author of Kindred)
“A timely, thought-provoking analysis, delivered in the affable prose that has become Dunn’s hallmark.” (Thor Hanson, author of Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid)