A Natural History of the Future

What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species

By: Rob Dunn

Narrated by: Donald Chang

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

A leading ecologist argues that if humankind is to survive on a fragile planet, we must understand and obey its iron laws.

Our species has amassed unprecedented knowledge of nature, which we have tried to use to seize control of life and bend the planet to our will. In A Natural History of the Future, biologist Rob Dunn argues that such efforts are futile. We may see ourselves as life’s overlords, but we are instead at its mercy. In the evolution of antibiotic resistance, the power of natural selection to create biodiversity, and even the surprising life of the London Underground, Dunn finds laws of life that no human activity can annul. When we create artificial islands of crops, dump toxic waste, or build communities, we provide new materials for old laws to shape. Life’s future flourishing is not in question. Ours is.

As ambitious as Edward Wilson’s Sociobiology and as timely as Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction, A Natural History of the Future sets a new standard for understanding the diversity and destiny of life itself.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Rob Dunn (P)2021 Basic Books

Critic reviews

“A fascinating, shocking, and inspiring guide to the future by one of the most creative and eloquent biologists of our time. Dunn’s book is packed full of insight from the latest scientific discoveries about the wonders and troubles of the living Earth.” (David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen)

“Speciations in weird urban habitats, viruses chasing hosts around the globe, and the greatest challenge life on Earth has faced for two million years: this is the fascinating and sobering ecology of the Anthropocene.” (Rebecca Wragg Sykes, author of Kindred)

“A timely, thought-provoking analysis, delivered in the affable prose that has become Dunn’s hallmark.” (Thor Hanson, author of Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid)

Detailed and worth it

The narrator was good. Dunn's text, while some claim it's overly detailed, is an important analysis of where we've been and where we could be going.

Sobering

First rate and chillingly well-documented scientific consensus of humankind’s plodding and unfocused embrace of the consequences of our transformation of living systems whether via climate, or habitat changes. The microbial world will prevail while our species burns out in the longer term.

A jumble of minutia but very little direction

Dunn spends very much time on the minutia of several eco systems but does not really put it all together in an actionable message. Folks with a high school education in biology & ecology will have heard most of this before with little additional insight. He literally spends one sentence on the underlying motor of all the mayhem- Too Many People, but mentions nothing of a plan to deal with it.

Woke Author Worships at the Altar of ESG

This book is compromised by the author's need to meet the talking points of the required ESG narrative. Don't waste your time on this one. Boring and hamstrung by ideology.

educational

somewhat interesting but a keen interest in science would be required to fully appreciate full value

Boring!!!!

If you like biology for its own sake, the book is okay. If you're looking for connections and ways to help navigate the future, it's CRAP.