The Sixth Extinction: Book Review

Elizabeth Kolbert wrote The Sixth Extinction as an attempt to explain and give examples of what seems to be a 6th extinction event currently happening in the modern world. We have discussed and learned about five other extinction events throughout this semester, and Kolbert pushes this 6th extinction event as a new rapid extinction predominantly caused by humans. One of the underlying causes of this 6th extinction event discussed in the book is the mass killing of both animals and humans. Another underlying cause of this extinction event discussed in the book, which is probably more prevalent now than ever before, is climate change caused by humans. This book goes chapter by chapter giving examples of various species that are on the verge of going
Emmanuel explains climate change and human causation through current examples and more scientific methodology, whereas Kolbert uses more examples from the past mixed with some current studies to show these distinctions. In my opinion I appreciate Emmanuel’s explanation more, because I believe it hits closer to home for people in the modern day by using current examples and showing how the future will be effected. This is different when compared to Kolbert’s explanatory style, where she uses more examples from the past (focused on extinction events) to give the reader a bit of a guilt trip. I also prefer Emmanuel’s style more because it gives some hope for what we as humans can do to recover and prevent future damage to our planet. In comparison, Kolbert solely talks about how we are in the middle of an extinction event and doesn’t give much hope for what the future holds for this planet. It may sound naïve, but I think hope and optimism is essential for readers wanting to learn more on climate change, because it gives people initiative to care about the