Inheritors of the Earth

How Nature Is Thriving in an Age of Extinction

By: Chris D. Thomas

Narrated by: Bob Reed

Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Human activity has irreversibly changed the natural environment. But the news isn't all bad.

It's accepted wisdom today that human beings have permanently damaged the natural world, causing extinction, deforestation, pollution, and of course climate change. But in Inheritors of the Earth, biologist Chris Thomas shows that this obscures a more hopeful truth - we're also helping nature grow and change. Human cities and mass agriculture have created new places for enterprising animals and plants to live, and our activities have stimulated evolutionary change in virtually every population of living species. Most remarkably, Thomas shows, humans may well have raised the rate at which new species are formed to the highest level in the history of our planet.

Drawing on the success stories of diverse species, from the ochre-colored comma butterfly to the New Zealand pukeko, Thomas overturns the accepted story of declining biodiversity on Earth. In so doing, he questions why we resist new forms of life and why we see ourselves as unnatural. Ultimately, he suggests that if life on Earth can recover from the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs, it can survive the onslaughts of the technological age. This eye-opening book is a profound reexamination of the relationship between humanity and the natural world.

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

©2017 Chris D. Thomas (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Combating the inconsistencies of today’s policies and emotional principles

This book makes great strides in combatting the inconsistencies of many current environmental credos. The author occasionally employs his own dose of selective ignorance throughout the book, which I hope will not cause people to write off the important points he is making. The perspective he highlights has been missing from the mainstream body of science, causing much of our policy to be based on emotion and flawed concepts of “baselines” and “nature.” This is an important book!

Makes you re-examine your perspectives

I love books that offer a fresh perspective. This book does that and defends its position well

Vocal Ticks + Mispronunciations = no bueno

He sounds friendly but... Is hard as hell to tolerate when you're trying to learn...

A Much-Needed Dose of Optimism

In a time of oft repeated doom and gloom about the natural world and the damage we have (and continue to) wrought, “Inheritors of the Earth” offers a much-needed perspective on life on our planet and our place as its stewards and contributing environmental force.

Essential read

understanding evolution is hard enough, but to think about ways the Anthropocene changes will impact species evolution is harder. This book is essential for an accurate, up to date look at the possibilities of the future of animals.