The Sixth Extinction cover art

The Sixth Extinction

An Unnatural History

Preview

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Sixth Extinction

Written by: Elizabeth Kolbert
Narrated by: Anne Twomey
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.24

Buy Now for $25.24

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

A major audiobook 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.

©2013 Elizabeth Kolbert (P)2013 Simon & Schuster
Environment Nature & Ecology Social Sciences Conservation Paleontology Polar Region
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Sixth Extinction

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    81
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    68
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    74
  • 4 Stars
    27
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding!

Highly recommend this book! Very well written and easy to understand. Will listen a 2nd time!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Top Notch!

the prologue is genius. the 1st chapter is dull. the rest is BRILLIANT! The history of living things, extinction, old scientists jockeying for truths, crow hand jobs and giant beavers, this book has it all!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

For anyone who needs proof of the 6th event,here it is. The author tells the story from a number of different approaches and provides a historical commentary as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth the read

Very thought provoking. I liked some of the personal anecdotes the author put in. Her thorough coverage of some species extinctions, as evidence of the sixth extinction, helped me to see the bigger picture.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a frank look at human stupidity

a well researched analysis of human influence on life on Earth. Grim, but factual and important

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderfully depressing read

My partner and I had many great discussions thanks to the great delivery and fantastic stories provided. There are many world mysteries and truths to ponder throughout, and I found new appreciations for all kinds of interesting subjects I would usually avoid.

Well done!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

This book is full of valuable knowledge of the state of the worlds ecosystems and the current threats to biodiversity everyone should be aware of. Also the authors story telling abitlity is astounding :)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exceptional read

A fascinating book that belongs in every library. Was a bit turned off when the author was introducing the book, but the narration levelled out and was not all that bad. #Audible1

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting

Lots of Interesting points and facts. Was not quite what I expected but still pretty good

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!