Inheritors of the Earth

How Nature Is Thriving in an Age of Extinction

De: Chris D Thomas

Narrado por: Leighton Pugh

Duración: 9 h y 12 m

Resumen del Editor

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Inheritors of the Earth by Chris D. Thomas, read by Leighton Pugh.

The Times, Economist and Guardian books of the year 2017.

It is accepted wisdom today that human beings have irrevocably damaged the natural world. We have altered our climate, acidified our oceans, and we are in the process of causing the sixth mass extinction. Yet what if this gloomy narrative obscures a more hopeful truth? In Inheritors of the Earth, renowned ecologist and environmentalist Chris D. Thomas overturns this loss-only view of the world's biodiversity, revealing how many animals and plants have benefited from the human-altered planet.

Taking us on a round-the-world journey to meet the enterprising animals and plants that are thriving in the Anthropocene, from York's ochre-coloured comma butterfly to the hybrid American bison and the scarlet-beaked New Zealand pukeko, Thomas questions why we resist the success of so-called 'invasive species', and why we see human activities as fundamentally unnatural. Combining a naturalist's eye for wildlife with an ecologist's wide lens, Chris Thomas forces us to re-examine humanity's relationship with nature, and reminds us that the story of life is the story of change.

©2017 Chris D. Thomas (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"An immensely significant book. It is fluently written, carefully thought through, ruthlessly argued, neatly illustrated with case studies - and shockingly contrarian." (Matt Ridley)

"This is a rich and timely tale, fearless too, with examples and cases drawn from ecosystems across the world." (Prof Jules Pretty, Times Higher Education)

Dazzling heresy

Why is there not more hype about this book? It's audacious! By definition, most people who read it will have an interest in environmental issues and conservation and for us, it's message is highly controversial. I had put it on my reading list to force myself to read something that doesn't accord with my world view, but I still figured I'd be reading some Donald Chump-style crock of pseudo-science concocted at the corrupt nexus of money and power and peddled to the public in service of some fat cat's bottom-line which would mostly make my blood boil, and instead it's astonishing, mind-blowing stuff that will forever alter my view on the impact our species is having on this planet. It could be sub-titled "The devastating human impact and the grander view of life." Not only is its message powerful and the case convincingly made, the writing style is marvelously engaging and its wonderfully narrated. Read Mr Thomas' heresy and feel re-born.