When Life Nearly Died

The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time

By: Michael J. Benton

Narrated by: Julian Elfer

Today it is common knowledge that the dinosaurs were wiped out by a meteorite impact 65 million years ago that killed half of all species then living. It is far less widely understood that a much greater catastrophe took place at the end of the Permian period 251 million years ago: at least 90 percent of life on earth was destroyed.

When Life Nearly Died documents not only what happened during this gigantic mass extinction, but also the recent renewal of the idea of catastrophism: the theory that changes in the earth's crust were brought about suddenly in the past by phenomena that cannot be observed today. Was the end-Permian event caused by the impact of a huge meteorite or comet or by prolonged volcanic eruption in Siberia? The evidence has been accumulating, and Michael J. Benton gives his verdict at the end of the volume.

The new edition brings the study of the greatest mass extinction of all time thoroughly up-to-date. In the years since the book was originally published, hundreds of geologists and paleontologists have been investigating all aspects of how life could be driven to the brink of annihilation, and especially how life recovered afterward, providing the foundations of modern ecosystems.

©2003, 2008, 2015 Thames & Hudson Ltd (P)2020 Tantor

In the hands of a Professional Paleontologist

Michael J. Benton is a consummate scientist and his story of the first extinction event that occurred over 252 million years ago is a brilliant and highly in depth research into this world changing event. The narrator, Julian Elfer does the perfect job of putting you into the world that Michael Benton walks you through to discover the facts. If detail is something you prefer not to be part of the story, then I would recommend another book. For me the detail added value to the entire learning experience. I am not a scientist, but after taking the time to research some of the unfamiliar topics, it became very clear how valid Michael's research is. This book is not for the general reader, but is written to a higher level of knowledge. I am looking forward to listening to this audio again. It would have been easier with a downloadable PDF's of the time lines and fossil examples which I had to locate on my own. Now that I understand the events of the first extinction, I have developed deeper understanding into the other 5 major events. I also recommend "T REX and the Crater of Doom". This audio is for the general reader. I highly recommend both.

Amazing

What a fascinating tale of history. The path to our understanding and unfolding of life in this planet's past is a task taken up my tremendous minds. True investigation unearthing hundreds of millions of years to literally get to the bottom of this incredible time.

Extinctions

Seemed like thoughtful research. Listening, I noticed a few questionable comments (animals emerged from the sea and never went back, did I hear that right? Whales grouped in with more ancient species??) but not enough to question the overall subject. I liked that the author discussed the various theories and didn’t seem to be trying to sell me his pet theory alone.

Very informative!

One of the best book on the subject of mass extinctions available on Audible.
It shows that, mass extinctions, does not have a single cause, but a cascade of sentinel events that has a destructive cumulative effect.
I wish, Audible, offers, Douglas Erwin's book on mass extinctions.
Erwin's book would be a valuable compliment to Benton's excellent book.

Excellent presentation and very informative

If I have one criticism of the audio version of the book is that it should have included figures, tables and illustrations to support the text.