For half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, during which biodiversity has suddenly and dramatically decreased.
Scientists around the world are witnessing the sixth extinction, which is predicted to be the most sweeping since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time, however, we are the cause.

With honesty and informed writing, New Yorker journalist Elizabeth Kolbert explains why and how humans have changed life on the planet in unprecedented ways. Combining research from various fields of knowledge, Kolbert offers us a poignant and comprehensive account of the disappearances happening before our eyes. She shows that the sixth extinction is likely to be the most enduring legacy of the human species and forces us to reconsider the fundamental question of what it means to be human.