Fall is prime time for scary reads, but I never expected the scariest book I’d pick up this year to be “Extinctions” by Charles Frankel. It is not horror - it’s work of popular science exploring past extinctions and the mechanisms that drove them. Frankel doesn’t stop there, he examines the factors in play today and seeks out solutions that might help us stave off a looming ecological collapse. As you read, a sense of dread builds, gradually revealing just how a world-threatening crisis grows over time—and yes, that lingering feeling of impending doom is real

Charles Frankel, a renowned French geologist, skillfully guides readers across space and time with both ease and infectious passion. He connects geology, astronomy, zoology, climate science, sociology, and anthropology into a cohesive narrative that genuinely left me shaken. We are, Frankel argues, at the brink of the sixth great mass extinction on Earth. While “at the brink” may mean thousands of years in geological terms, the threat feels unnervingly close. We’re aware of climate change and endangered species lists, but Frankel’s approach sharpens this awareness into something both urgent and devastating. It certainly left me rattled.

The author is candid from the start: this book may become technical or academic at times. To me this particularly rang true in its discussion of past extinctions. Though packed with rigorous science, some sections read closer to academic literature than popular science, which might feel dense for casual readers. Still, the depth is rewarding - Frankel presents a range of hypotheses, emphasizing how much scientific inquiry is shaped by factors as disparate as funding and personal agendas. Perhaps the most striking part of the book is the account of humanity's staggering impact on wildlife, starting as far back as the Ice Age. Have you ever considered that prehistoric humans may have overhunted megafauna into extinction? That sobering question frames our species’ destructive influence as far more deep-rooted than we might think.

But how far are we from the desperate state of the crisis? Can we reverse or at least mitigate the ongoing collapse of the biosphere? The author presents a grim yet compelling array of data, warning that the statistics we see on the news may mask the severity of the crisis. With so many contributing factors and potential feedback loops accelerating the collapse, the numbers we hear might be just the tip of the iceberg. I lost count of the number of times I gasped and exclaimed. I am glad that the book also covered the scientific limitations of species resurrection. I loved the speculative final chapter covering the future of humanity and the doomsday scenarios.

It’s not easy to present such an extensive amount of data and make it relatable to readers. This book isn’t just for scientists; it’s essential reading for policymakers and leaders who make decisions affecting the environment. Honestly, if you’re ever looking for scientifically grounded arguments to discuss climate change, endangered species, or humanity’s impact on nature, this is a valuable resource.

Thank you University of Chicago Press and NetGalley for providing this book for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

PS. I will always praise a well-made bibliography section and this one has accompanying author’s notes and comments.

What can we learn from past extinctions?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Charles Frankel looks at past mass extinctions over geological time to identify the causes and see whether there is anything we can learn from them. Over half the book looks at climate change and the ways we’re impacting our planet and draws on the information gleaned about the climatic conditions following previous events to make some very strong points about the consequences of our actions.

He also looks ahead to the things that could affect Earth and ultimately cause the extinction of our own species. I can recommend this book, it made me think about mass extinctions in a different way and gave me a lot of food for thought.

I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to.

I adored Extinctions! As an anthropology student I felt that this was a great resource for understanding extinction.

Extinctions by Charles Frankel is a thought-provoking and well-researched book on the history of planetary extinction events and the current biodiversity challenges which are either directly or indirectly attributable to homo sapiens. By putting both numbers in perspective and providing countless examples of species lost through the past centuries (with much more that we probably know nothing about) the author does a great service in illustrating the plight we find ourselves in while sharing the planetary ecosystem with other more fragile species.

There were two aspects that I found especially refreshing about this book, which I find too rare when reading similar books. First, by acknowledging the role of the economic model we have chosen for ourselves and thus the underlying "rules of the game" we are all abiding by in our consumption patters, the author helps in clarifying that it is in the end us and not those big bad companies out there that we should be wagging our fingers at when we read of yet another species extinctions. If we do indeed care for our ecosystems we need to step away from the cheapest ways of satisfying our (sometimes frivolous) needs and scrutinise our own consumption habits. Or allow some of our habits to be regulated against.

The other aspect was that I didn't close the book with a feeling of doom and hopelessness as some other books tend to stress. We need to vote in those political parties that are willing to mandate for biodiversity protection and thus transfer the costs of this from nature to the electorate, something that the country in which I live has yet again proven unwilling to do.

However, once we do find ways for ecological pressures to subside, nature shows a great resilience to heal itself and has a way of effectively refilling holes in its trophic pyramid. Let's hope we learn our lesson in time before the world is only populated by homo sapiens and the flora and fauna that it eats.

This books comes very highly recommended for those interested in biodiversity.

This book is a history of different mass extinction events and how those different events relate to the climate situation of today and the rate of extinctions that happen today. There is a growing consensus/opinion that we are going through a mass extinction event in present day and the book goes over whether or not this is actually true.

I love nonfiction in general and I really liked this book overall. The sections talking about past mass extinction events were very well written and I learned a lot from them that I didn’t know previously. I enjoyed reading about different theories behind what caused them and how they progressed. It was interesting to see how they related to things happening in modern day and how we might be able to play out current events based on what happened in the past.

It talks a lot about whether or not there is currently a mass extinction event going on in modern day and the facts and figures behind current extinction levels. While there is currently no way to know precisely how high the rate of extinction is (which is pointed out by the book) there is no denying that the rate is going up. The questions whether or not we can do anything about that. I think there is.

My one complaint is that the book gets very technical at points, with part of the introduction going so far as to say that you can skim part of the book because they thought it was a little much. If you the author admit that part of your book isn’t readable I personally think that should get revised instead of you giving your audience permission to not read part of your book.

Overall I greatly enjoyed this though and recommend for fans of nonfiction. Will be looking up more from the author in the future.

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy of this story. All thoughts below are my own and are left voluntarily; they are not in any way influenced by the author, publisher, or others involved in its creation.

<i>Extinctions: From Dinosaurs to You</i> is a non-fiction book discussing the current situation in our world, mass extinction events, and supposed causes of said events. It addresses the fact that there have been five events considered (known) mass extinction events, and that we may be on the precipice of a sixth such event given the current state of the world. While the content is certainly interesting and is presented in an easily digestible way, I have two concerns with the author's approach to this story: the first is the almost narrow focus (specifically on the Holocene - the current geological epoch that began around 11,700 years ago) despite this subject being complex, involved, and beginning well before humans; the second is the almost essay-like nature of the book.

Do not get me wrong, I do not think an essay-style book is a bad thing, but the book reads less as an overview and analysis of the facts, and more as if the author has the goal of convincing the reader to see their point of view, albeit not overtly. I did enjoy the subject matter and learned a lot about mass extinction events and the effects of humans on the natural world, but I do find it somewhat unhelpful that the author characterises a lot of these events as being the fault of humans. While our development has had an impact on the natural world, humans are a part of its ecosystem, fortunately a part that has the capacity and sentience to understand our effects on the world, and we are only one factor in many that contribute to mass extinction events.

I wouldn't say I liked this book in the way I enjoyed others on similar subject matter, but I also wouldn't say I disliked it either. I think it was a good read and it presented one side of a very complex subject with background to back it up, but I also feel as if it was missing crucial details and crucial analysis that would have made it a five star exploration in my opinion. I do not believe that is strictly the fault of the author; given the density of the subject, and the fact that scientists are still exploring and learning about these events, it is possible some of the analysis was impossible at the time of writing. I would like to see an updated version of this book as more information becomes available and we explore the impacts of mass extinctions on the ecosystem.

This is a great in-depth look at the major extinction events that have happened in the past as well as what we might learn from them for the future. The End Cretaceous asteroid gets extra attention here and even though I've read other books on it (even T. rex and the Crater of Doom by Walter Alvarez, who started it all with his father), I found this one to be especially good at explaining what happened. But Frankel also looks at more modern extinctions, such as the large megafauna including woolly mammoths and giant cave bears that were most likely hunted into extinction by early hunters. He also goes into quite a lot of detail regarding current global warming trends and how that affects animals and plants. He wraps everything up with some suggestions for governmental policies going forward.

I probably enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second. Even though he said Chapter 3 (post Cretaceous recovery) was "somewhat technical and overly detailed in places" and "suggest[ed] skimming through the parts that appear too academic - except students of the earth sciences, of course," I found it very readable and understandable (even though I'm an informal student of such things). Honestly, I thought the parts about current global warming and modern species extinction rates were a bit more technical and detailed. Mr. Frankel has a good way with his explanations that helped to bring the history and situation alive in a way I've found lacking in other books.

The assessment of current times was somewhat depressing, even though he looks at it all in an almost clinical way. Other reviews have pointed out that humans come in for a lot of criticism at this point, and that's certainly true. I also believe, as Werner Heisenberg said: "... science started from the belief - or should one say, from the illusion? - that we could describe the world, or at least parts of the world, without any reference to ourselves." However, I didn't think Frankel was anywhere near as heavy-handed in this regard as others I've read, and in several places he pointed out that we need space and resources as well as animals and plants. But regardless, this was probably the best book I've read on the topic. 4.5 stars rounded up.

From the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs to today’s climate crisis, understanding extinction events can help us mitigate their impact. This book argues that by changing our destructive tendencies, prioritizing biodiversity conservation, and redefining our role as humans, we can take transformative action and give Earth a chance to heal.

This book provides an interesting overview of mass extinction event, but focuses mainly on the Holocene. I found it a bit disturbing the way the author characterized megafauna extinctions as massacres by humans, when the most we can reasonably say is that humans outcompeted them. Humans aren’t to blame because we’re able to use natural resources more intensively than other species. It’s only in the past 50 years or so that we’ve begun to understand the dangers we present to the natural world. Talking about blame accomplishes nothing.

Humans are part of the ecosystems they live in. Any solutions to preserving species diversity must include addressing human needs and human nature. This book doesn’t go far enough in acknowledging that fact. People aren’t going to change, and it’s naive to suggest that they will.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.