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The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History (2014) is a nonfiction book about the development, impact, and extinction of various species throughout the history of the world. Written by Elizabeth Kolbert, an American author, journalist, and Pulitzer Prize winner, the book focuses on Earth’s environmental, biological, and ecological aspects and how these factors impact the world and its inhabitants. Kolbert argues that we are currently in the process of experiencing a “Sixth Extinction” caused almost entirely by human beings. As proof of this phenomenon, Kolbert travels to the farthest reaches of the globe to research and examine examples of past mass extinction events and to connect them to the one she believes is now occurring. Further evidence of a human-induced extinction event is provided by Kolbert’s profile of a variety of species, some which are already extinct and some of which are on the verge of being eradicated.
In thirteen chapters, each of which focuses on different proofs of a modern extinction event, Kolbert visits and speaks with experts on a series of ecosystems and organisms from both the past and present. In the first chapter, she goes to Panama to examine the nearly extinct golden frog.
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