The Ends of the World

“Timely to say the least … with grace and wit, [Brannen] makes a compelling case that recognizing our fortune and coming to terms with our fragility means consciousness prevails in the universe. We are still capable of changing the way we live.” - Paste Magazine

“Masterful … might be just the book to give to that uncle of yours who still wants to argue about climate change (or even to your US Representative). But first, read it yourself. It’s a page turner.” - Ars Technica

”[Brannen] is a companionable guide, as good at breathing life into the fossilized prose of scientific papers as he is at conjuring the Ordovician reign of the nautiloids.” - New York Times Book Review

“A remarkable journey into the deep past that has much to teach us about the future of our planet.” - The Guardian

“Revealing … Effectively link[s] past and present, [while] wind[ing] down with projections for the future and a warning against inaction in the face of climate change.” - Publishers Weekly

“An exciting detective story venturing into the extraordinary worlds of our Earth’s past to discover what caused them to end. Brannen describes unimaginable floods, planet-scale catastrophes and incredible creatures that were once common. A cautionary tale for the future of our human age.” - Gaia Vince, author of Adventures in Anthropocene

“The Ends of the World recounts the breath-taking stories of the five mass extinctions that have punctuated the course of evolution. Its vertiginous sense of the fragility of living things will never leave you, not least because humanity may now be writing the end of Brannen’s riveting tale.” - Stephen Curry, professor of structural biology, Imperial College

“Robert Frost only gave us two options to end the world: fire or ice. Peter Brannen informs us in this fun rollick through deep history that there are so many more interesting ways to go.” - Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish

“Clear-eyed, urgent, and eloquent… . Brannen offers an important education, making an argument for how better understanding what’s happened can help us determine how to move forward.” - Boston Globe

“Gripping … Brannen excels at evoking lost worlds.” - The New Yorker

“A book about one apocalypse–much less five–could have been a daunting read, were it not for the wit, lyricism, and clarity that Peter Brannen brings to every page. He is a storyteller at the height of his powers, and he has found a story worth telling.” - Ed Yong, author of I Contain Multitudes

“A simultaneously enlightening and cautionary tale of the deep history of our planet and the possible future… . . entertaining and informative on the geological record and the researchers who study it… . a useful addition to the popular literature on climate change.” - Kirkus

“If readers have time for only one book on the subject, this wonderfully written, well-balanced, and intricately researched (though not too dense) selection is the one to choose.” - Library Journal (Starred Review)

“Much-needed as a cautionary lesson and a hopeful demonstration of how life on Earth keeps rebounding from destruction.” - Booklist

“Want to know the future? Look to the past, the deep past. That’s one of the many insights you’ll glean from reading Brannen’s entertaining, engaging, elegant book.” - David Biello, author of The Unnatural World

“A vivid, fascinating story about all the past and future lives of our planet. Peter Brannen has the knack of opening up new worlds under our feet.” - Michael Pye, author of The Edge of the World

Peter Brannen is a science journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Scientific American, among other publications. He is the author of The Ends of the World, about the biggest mass extinctions in Earth’s history.

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