NCSE is pleased to offer a free preview (PDF) of of Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History (Henry Holt and Co., 2014). The preview consists of a portion of chapter 11, "The Rhino Gets an Ultrasound," in which Kolbert discusses programs aimed at breeding the Sumatran rhinoceros in captivity. "In an ironic twist," she writes, "humans have brought the species so low that it seems only heroic human efforts can save it."
Praising The Sixth Extinction, Bill McKibben writes, "With her usual lucid and lovely prose, Elizabeth Kolbert lays out the sad and gripping facts of our moment on earth: that we've become a geological force, driving vast swaths of creation over the brink. A remarkable addition to the literature of our haunted epoch." By the way, a portion of NCSE's Josh Rosenau's interview with Kolbert is available at the Science League of America blog.
May 9, 2014