New Releases by Elizabeth Kolbert

Over the last half billion years, there have been five major mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around the cataclysm is us. In this book the author tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. She provides a moving account of the disappearances of various species occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up to Lyell and Darwin, and through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind''s most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human. -- Publisher description.

Se spune că începuturile pot fi uneori ca o ceață de nepătruns. Așa este și cazul acestei povești, care începe cu apariția unei noi specii, probabil în urmă cu două mii de ani. Specia nu are încă un nume – nimic nu are încă unul – dar are capacitatea de a numi lucruri. Asemenea oricărei alte noi specii, starea acesteia este fragilă. Numărul membrilor săi este mic, iar teritoriul pe care îl ocupă este redus la o bucată din estul Africii. Populația sa crește treptat, dar apoi, destul de probabil, aceasta se diminuează din nou – unii ar spune că asta se întâmplă într-un mod aproape fatal – ajungând la doar câteva mii de perechi. Membrii speciei nu sunt neapărat foarte rapizi sau puternici sau fertili. Ei sunt însă nemaipomenit de descurcăreți. Progresiv, ei încep să exploreze teritorii cu diferite climate, diferiți prădători și diferite tipuri de vânat. Nici una dintre constrângerile aduse de habitat sau de geografia locului nu pare să îi afecteze prea tare.

Arka Kapak PULITZER ÖDÜLÜ SAHİBİ NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW’A GÖRE YILIN EN İYİ 10 KİTABINDAN BİRİ NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE ÖDÜLÜ FİNALİSTİ Son yarım milyar yılda tam beş kitlesel yok oluş yaşandı; dünyada yaşam çeşitliliği aniden ve dramatik ölçüde azaldı. Peki gözlerimizin önünde yeni bir kitlesel yok oluş yaşanıyor olabilir mi? “Altıncı Yok Oluş harika bir kitap... Büyük, ani değişikliklerin yaşanabileceğini, bunun olasılık dışı olmadığını açıkça ortaya koyuyor. Bunlar daha önce yaşandı, yeniden yaşanabilir.” —ABD Başkanı Barack Obama Dünyanın dört yanında bilim insanları, dinozorların yok olmasına neden olan asteroit çarpmasından sonra en yıkıcı yok oluş süreci olduğunu öngördükleri altıncı yok oluşu gözlemliyor. Bu kez, felaketin nedeni biziz. “Doğa bilimciler dünya tarihinde beş yok oluş gerçekleştiğini söyler; Kolbert, insan faaliyetlerinin, gezegeni altıncı yok oluşa götürdüğüne dair ikna edici bir tez ortaya koyuyor.” ?Bill Gates Hem samimi, hem eğlenceli, hem de bilgi dolu bu kitapta, New Yorker yazarı Elizabeth Kolbert, insanın, gezegenimizdeki hayatı, diğer hiçbir türün yapmadığı şekilde değiştirmesinin nedenini ve nasılını anlatıyor. Çok sayıda disiplinde yapılmış araştırmaları, yok olmuş türlerin tanımlarını ve kavram olarak yok oluşun geçmişini bir araya getiren Kolbert, gözlerimizin önünde yok olmakta olan türlere dair etkileyici ve kapsamlı bir hikaye sunuyor. Kolbert, altıncı yok oluşun insanoğlunun en kalıcı mirası olmaya aday olduğunu gösteriyor ve bizleri insan olmanın anlamını yeniden düşünmeye zorluyor. Altıncı Yok Oluş, dünyanın geleceğine dair; entelektüel tarih, doğa tarihi ve saha muhabirliğini bir araya getiren ve gözlerimizin önünde süregelen kitlesel yok oluşa dair güçlü bir anlatım sunan önemli bir kitap.

À travers l’histoire, notre planète a connu cinq grandes extinctions de masse. Les scientifiques estiment aujourd’hui que nous nous dirigeons vers la sixième et la plus dévastatrice des extinctions depuis la disparition des dinosaures : celle de l’humanité. Le grand responsable de ce fiasco ? L’homme lui-même. Pour saisir l’ampleur de ce moment critique, Elizabeth Kolbert a mené une enquête passionnante sur la grande histoire de la vie terrestre et sur le péril imminent qui la guette. Du Panamá à l’Islande, en passant par Gubbio, la cité fossile italienne, puis l’Amazonie, elle interroge une foule de chercheurs qui enregistrent chaque jour les indices d’une réalité implacable : notre monde agonise. Dans ce document-choc, salué dans le monde entier comme un événement, Elizabeth Kolbert propose un reportage saisissant, récompensé en 2015 d’un prix Pulitzer. Elle démontre que l’on ne peut plus ignorer la crise environnementale qui sévit sous nos yeux. Au risque de disparaître à notre tour.

Sie haben noch nie etwas vom Stummelfußfrosch gehört? Oder vom Sumatra-Nashorn? Gut möglich, dass Sie auch nie von ihnen hören werden, denn sie sind dabei auszusterben. Wir erleben derzeit das sechste sogenannte Massenaussterben: In einem relativ kurzen Zeitraum verschwinden ungewöhnlich viele Arten. Experten gehen davon aus, dass es das verheerendste sein wird, seit vor etwa 65 Millionen Jahren ein Asteroid unter anderem die Dinosaurier auslöschte. Doch dieses Mal kommt die Bedrohung nicht aus dem All, sondern wir tragen die Verantwortung. Wie haben wir Menschen das Massenaussterben herbeigeführt? Wie können wir es beenden? Elizabeth Kolbert spricht mit Geologen, die verschwundene Ozeane erforschen, begleitet Botaniker in die Anden und begibt sich gemeinsam mit Tierschützern auf die Suche nach den letzten Exemplaren gefährdeter Arten. Sie zeigt, wie ernst die Lage ist, und macht uns zu Zeugen der dramatischen Ereignisse auf unserem Planeten.

Los humanos somos testigos de un acontecimiento dramático: la extinción en masa de un gran número de especies. No es la primera que se ha producido en la Tierra —se conocen cinco anteriores, las «Cinco Grandes»—, pero la sexta extinción nos atañe especialmente, no sólo porque tiene lugar en el momento presente, sino porque somos responsables de ella. Según los cálculos de Elizabeth Kolbert, al final del siglo xxi habrá desaparecido más del 20% de todas las especies vivas que pueblan la Tierra. Una de esas raras obras que nos ayudan no sólo a comprender el presente, sino también a orientar el futuro.

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE ONE OF THE "NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW"''S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR A "NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLER A NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST A major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes Over the last half-billion years, there have been Five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. In prose that is at once frank, entertaining, and deeply informed, "New Yorker" writer Elizabeth Kolbert tells us why and how human beings have altered life on the planet in a way no species has before. Interweaving research in half a dozen disciplines, descriptions of the fascinating species that have already been lost, and the history of extinction as a concept, Kolbert provides a moving and comprehensive account of the disappearances occurring before our very eyes. She shows that the sixth extinction is likely to be mankind''s most lasting legacy, compelling us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

Betoog waarin wordt gesteld dat we (voor de zesde keer) leven in een tijd waarin de aarde wordt bedreigd met uitsterven, maar ditmaal door toedoen van de mens.

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW''S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR A major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes Over the last half a billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us. In The Sixth Extinction, two-time winner of the National Magazine Award and New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert draws on the work of scores of researchers in half a dozen disciplines, accompanying many of them into the field: geologists who study deep ocean cores, botanists who follow the tree line as it climbs up the Andes, marine biologists who dive off the Great Barrier Reef. She introduces us to a dozen species, some already gone, others facing extinction, including the Panamian golden frog, staghorn coral, the great auk, and the Sumatran rhino. Through these stories, Kolbert provides a moving account of the disappearances occurring all around us and traces the evolution of extinction as concept, from its first articulation by Georges Cuvier in revolutionary Paris up through the present day. The sixth extinction is likely to be mankind''s most lasting legacy; as Kolbert observes, it compels us to rethink the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

An innovatively packaged literary anthology published to commemorate the International Polar Year-and remind us what we''re in danger of losing. The Arctic and Antarctic ice shelves have been an object of obsession for as long as we''ve known they existed. Countless explorers, such as Richard Byrd, Ernest Shackleton, and Robert Falcon Scott, have risked their lives to chart their frozen landscapes. Now, for the first time in human history, we are in legitimate danger of seeing polar ice dramatically shrink, break apart, or even disappear. The Ends of the Earth, a collection of the very best writing on the Arctic and Antarctic, will simultaneously commemorate four centuries of exploring and scientific study, and make the call for preservation. Stocked with first-person narratives, cultural histories, nature and science writing, and fiction, this book is a compendium of the greats of their fields: including legendary polar explorers and such writers as Jon Krakauer, Jack London, Diane Ackerman, Barry Lopez, and Ursula K. LeGuin. Edited by two contemporary authorities on exploring and the environment, and published to coincide with the International Polar Year, The Ends of the Earth is a memorable collection of terrific writing-and a lasting contribution to the debate over global warming and the future of the polar regions themselves.

La catástrofe que viene es el libro de referencia sobre el cambio climático, un tema crucial y el mayor desafío de nuestros tiempos Conocida por su periodismo político perspicaz e inquisitivo, Elizabeth Kolbert nos trae un libro clave del ecologismo contemporáneo que muchos han comparado con el mítico Primavera silenciosa. Uniendo sus vastos conocimientos científicos a entrevistas a pie de campo con personas que han presenciado la innegable variación del clima en los últimos años, Kolbert ha escrito un libro imprescindible para comprender la manera en que el calentamiento global está afectando nuestras vidas. La autora se pregunta qué podemos hacer, si es que podemos hacer algo, para salvar el planeta.

Explores the issue of global warming from every angle, incorporating interviews with researchers and environmentalists, explaining the science and the studies, and presenting the personal tales of those who are being affected most.

Sometime in the next few months, physicists at CERN will finish preparations for the most ambitious particle-physics experiment ever, which will be conducted in an apparatus modestly referred to as the Large Hadron Collider, or L.H.C. The L.H.C. fills a circular tunnel seventeen miles in circumference. To get from one side of it to the other, it is necessary to drive through several towns, and then descend three hundred feet in an elevator. Alternatively, it is possible to ride through the tunnel in one of the dozens of bicycles CERN provides for its staff, but in that case a supply of emergency oxygen is required. The L.H.C. is considered the best - some would say the only - hope for testing the theories of ''new physics'' against material reality. Once the collider begins operating at full power - in early 2008, if all goes well - nearly half the particle physicists in the world will be involved in analyzing its four-million-megabyte-per-hour stream of data. Few events in the history of science have had a bigger buildup. It''s been suggested that the L.H.C. will unlock the secrets of the universe or, barring that, prove this ambition to be hopeless.

New Yorker writer Kolbert tackles the controversial subject of global warming. Americans have been warned since the late 1970s that the buildup of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere threatens to melt the polar ice sheets and irreversibly change our climate. With little done since then to alter this dangerous course, now is the moment to salvage our future. By the end of the century, the world will likely be hotter than it''s been in the last two million years, and the sweeping consequences of this change will determine the future of life on earth for generations to come. Kolbert approaches this monumental problem from every angle. She travels to the Arctic, interviews researchers and environmentalists, explains the science and the studies, draws frightening parallels to lost ancient civilizations, unpacks the politics, and presents the personal tales of those who are being affected most--the people who make their homes near the poles and are watching their worlds disappear.--From publisher description.

A journalist reassesses the complex workings of power in New York in a collection of incisive portraits of such figures as Boss Tweed, Hillary Clinton, Rudolph Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg, Al Sharpton, and others to explain why certain people attain power, how they use it, and how they lose it. 15,000 first printing.

Visitar lugares que não estão em nenhum destino turístico e relatar a experiência em forma de diário, faz o do livro Planeta terra em perigo, uma reportagem sobre o que realmente está acontecendo com o ambiente global. No livro, a jornalista Elizabeth Kolbert, contrapõe a ciência, o homem, as causas e efeitos na alteração da atmosfera, para mostrar a realidade do aquecimento global. Ela viajou para os mais diferentes lugares do mundo, como Ártico, Inglaterra, Holanda, Islândia, Porto Rico, Groelândia, entre outros, para compor, em cada capítulo do livro, o seu diário informal de viagens, onde ela apresenta tanto a visão dos cientistas quanto das pessoas que já estão sendo afetadas pelas mudanças climáticas. O livro é fruto de três artigos escritos pela autora para a revista New Yorker. E para ela tem o mesmo objetivo da série de textos originais, ''Transmitir com o maior grau de exatidão possível a realidade do aquecimento global'', explica Elizabeth no prefácio do livro.