The Human Planet

Reviews

A careful explanation of what society is doing to this amazing planet and its people. I was absolutely gripped. Brilliantly written and genuinely one of the most important books I have ever read A relentless reckoning of how we, as a species, got ourselves into the mess we're in today. . . told with determination and in chiseled, almost literary prose. Indeed, the book's main story - how one species, Homo sapiens, fresh off the trees of Africa, came to rule the Earth so completely that it now stands a good chance of wrecking it - has the force of a Greek tragedy A clear, intelligent and engaged history of and argument about the Anthropocene. . . If readers want a judicious and engaging marker of where the debate has reached, The Human Planet is it Profound and thought-provoking, this book does a remarkable job explaining where the current proposal to define a new human-dominated era properly fits That humans now dominate the 'natural' systems of our planet is the key fact of our time -- this book does a remarkable job of explaining how that came to pass, and why it matters so much Understanding what it means for humans to have become a geological force reshaping the workings of the Earth is both a deep intellectual challenge and a political necessity. Richly thought through and provocative from its title onwards, The Human Planet rises to that challenge, bringing together Earth history and human history in a new way. Its reassessment of the past will equip its readers to understand the future -- and perhaps to improve it Today scientists increasingly believe that we have entered a new era, the Anthropocene. In this succinct but sweeping re-evaluation of the human story, Simon Lewis and Mark Maslin show exactly why this abstract-sounding contention should radically affect our views of today and tomorrow. The Human Planet packs more ideas into a small space than I would have thought possible Immensely readable. . . Simon Lewis and Mark Maslin provide a compelling narrative, stretching from the emergence of hominins from Earth's long history some 3 million years ago, to our position today, as a species with planetary reach Expand reviews