An interesting and informative book in which the author investigates the mystery of what caused the various great extinctions in the past, and how this relates to the current environmental situation today. This scientific mystery story involves everything from squabbling scientist, volcanoes, "evil" bacteria, poisonous gases and asteroids to oceanic convection currents and ice core data.

The book was published in 2007. I'm not certain how outdated and thus accurate the data is in light of any new evidence. However, I found the book to be an interesting and entertaining reading experience, with food for thought and things to look up.

Other, Related Recommended Books:
The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed History by David Beerling
Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth's Ancient Atmosphere by Peter D. Ward
Oxygen: The Molecule That Made the World by Nick Lane ( )

Books like this always end with an optimistic scenario, but they always seem to me to be unrealistic. All the preceding content is bitter medicine, so the attempt to sweeten it at the end just doesn't work. I found this book to be well-researched, convincing, and when I finished it, I was filled with dread through and through. ( )

I liked this book. The theory of mass extinctions could have just been presented at the outset, probably in a paragraph or a chapter, but Ward tells it as a story of the search for truth, so we get both the science angle and the politics of science angle. It's a good book to read if you're interested in global warming, mass extinctions, and how science works. I found his discussion of the politics and personal interactions surrounding the impact hypothesis for the dinosaurs' extinction intriguing and a bit sad, too. It's odd that the scientists can't all just sit down and discuss the science. Some of them, I suppose, did, and Ward tries to present himself in that role. Ward is certainly in a position to address all of this in an authoritative way. It was interesting that some of the points made by the anti-impact people in the case of the dinosaurs' extinction, even though they turned out to be wrong, were helpful in addressing the problems relating to the other extinctions. I found some of his descriptions of his trips to sites to study the fossils a bit confusing. His descriptions seemed careful enough, and I picked up most of what it was like "working" the sites, but for some reason it was often hard to picture what exactly the site looked like physically and what he did physically. Perhaps some pictures or photos of the sites might have helped. Also, I'd be interested in knowing what his reaction to the "runaway greenhouse" possibility invoked in James Hansen's more recent book "Storms of my Grandchildren" would be. But his point that climate scientists and scientists investigating the mass extinctions should work together is very well taken. It's important for us to consider the human side of the science story because "how science works" is an issue for a lot of people, who still don't trust science. If you don't trust science, you'll be reluctant to accept the fact of climate change. Ward's discussion leaves the impression that the discipline of science can overcome some pretty strong personal feelings, and in balance leaves us with a good feeling about science even when individual scientists can sometimes be pretty strange. ( )

This is probably the clearest writing you will find on the subject of past extinctions and paleo climate changes. The title comes from the authors interpretation of what the earth would look like during the height of the Permian-Triasic extinction. This is the largest and one of the most difficult to understand die-offs ever to occur on the earth. Ward's field work provides compelling hard evidence to his interpretations and will scare the pants off you. ( )

One of the most provocative books I've read. Talks about global warming in the past. Offers proof on a different theory re the disappearance of dinosaurs. ( )