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摘要
摘要
Richard Leakey, One Of The World's Foremost Experts On Man's Evolutionary Past, Now Turns His Eye To The Future And Doesn't Like What He Sees. To the philosophical the earth is eternal, while the human race -- presumptive keeper of the world's history -- is a mere speck in the rich stream of life. It is known that nothing upon Earth is forever; geography, climate, and plant and animal life are all subject to radical change. On five occasions in the past, catastrophic natural events have caused mass extinctions on Earth. But today humans stand alone, in dubious distinction, among Earth's species: Homo Sapiens possesses the ability to destroy entire species at will, to trigger the sixth extinction in the history of life. In The Sixth Extinction, Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin consider how the grand sprawl of human life is inexorably wreaking havoc around the world. The authors of Origins and Origins Reconsidered, unimpeachable authorities on the human fossil record, turn their attention to the most uncharted anthropological territory of all: the future, and man's role in defining it. According to Leakey and Lewin, man and his surrounding species are end products of history and chance. Now, however, humans have the unique opportunity to recognize their influence on the global ecosystem, and consciously steer the outcome in order to avoid triggering an unimaginable upheaval. From the Hardcover edition.
评论 (4)
出版社周刊评论
Five mass extinctions, etched in the fossil record, attest to life's precarious, unpredictable course. One such catastrophe, occurring 65 million years ago, wiped out the dinosaurs and ushered in the age of mammals. In another global disaster, 225 million years ago, more than 95% of marine animal species vanished. A sixth mass extinction is inevitable, according to eminent paleoanthropologist/conservationist Leakey and ecologist/evolutionary biologist Lewin, who collaborated on Origins and Origins Reconsidered. Human beings, by destroying tropical rain forests and driving tens of thousands of species into extinction, are dangerously reducing biodiversity, damaging ecosystems and possibly precipitating the next major mass extinction, which could number Homo sapiens among its victims, the authors warn. This eloquent and important study maintains that mass extinctions were major creative factors in shaping evolution, opening ecological niches to survivorsonly we may not be so lucky next time around. Illustrated. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus评论
Here's a sobering look at the human race's impact on its environment, from the authors of Origins (1977) and Origins Reconsidered (1992). In addition to his work in unearthing the remains of early hominids, Leakey spent five years as director of Kenya's Wildlife Services, fighting the spread of elephant poaching. Many of his insights in this book arise from the recognition that our species now has the power to bring about the extinction of a majority of our fellow inhabitants of the planet. Of course, mass extinctions are not rare in the fossil record; there have been at least five occasions when nearly two-thirds of living species disappeared from the face of the earth. Most were killed off by natural disasters, whether on the scale of the meteor impact believed to have ended the age of dinosaurs or an isolated habitat being destroyed by a change in local climate. But beginning with the late Pleistocene, the impact of human beings becomes evident. The extinction of large mammals--including mammoths, mastodons, giant ground sloths--in North America just over 10,000 years ago was almost certainly due to hunting by the newly arrived ancestors of today's Native Americans. Now the encroachment of human activities on the tropical rain forests (where a vast majority of living species reside) threatens to escalate the death toll to a level comparable to the five great prehistoric extinctions. The authors urge us to take action to prevent this catastrophe and present strong evidence that we are far richer leaving the forests undeveloped than we can ever be by letting them fall prey to monoculture and corporate use. Eloquently argued and rigorously supported by scientific evidence, this is a powerful document in the fight to preserve our natural heritage while there is still time. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
《书目》(Booklist)书评
Whither Homo sapiens, ask these noted evolutionists, and their answers--toward extinction--are disturbing warnings against humankind's overstress on the environment. Eldredge wonders how evolutionary processes can continue because of humans' increasing global effect on the natural ecology. If humanity can reverse within the next centuries its present ravagings and overpopulation, he believes it has a future into the next few million years, but not if its activities trigger a global extinction event. He then speculates on the long-term evolution of our species and, not surprisingly from the inventor of the concept of evolutionary "stasis," firmly believes we will not evolve into something different, genetic experiments notwithstanding. Leakey's latest book (on the heels of an absorbing biography of his family, Ancestral Passions by Virginia Morell [BKL Jl 95]) in one aspect encapsulates his boyhood dream to become a wildlife manager instead of the world-famous paleoanthropologist he is. A whole chapter, and many personal anecdotes, cover his leadership in his native Kenya to preserve elephants, whose straits for Leakey symbolize the distressed global ecology. The balance of his presentation covers evolution, generally, and human evolution, specifically. Leakey is convinced of an imminent extinction wave equal to the dinosaur-killing events; his warnings and arguments against "anti-alarmists" should gather a wide hearing from readers worried that humanity is undermining its own future by extinguishing other creatures. --Gilbert Taylor
《图书馆杂志》(Library Journal )书评
Paleoanthropologist Leakey and coauthor Lewin (Origins Reconsidered, LJ 9/1/92) examine biology's traditional viewpoints, which maintain a linear progression from simple to complex species development. In this scenario, survival of the fittest means success, and species extinction indicates failure. The authors also present the current trends in evolutionary science theory suggesting that the world is shaped by mass extinctions (natural catastrophes have caused five) instead of natural selection and that the shape and behavior of biological communities is driven by chaotic interaction rather than the simplistic balance-of-nature concept. Leakey and Lewin argue that Homo sapiens is the result of many chance events in evolution rather than the foreordained culmination of evolutionary excellence. Unfortunately, our self-awareness and mental capacity has given us the dubious capability of triggering a sixth extinction, destroying entire species through overhunting and habitat destruction. As the only sentient creature among animals, we have the duty to protect all of Earth's species. The authors present a powerful message based on years of observation and fieldwork. Highly recommended for all collections.Gloria Maxwell, Kansas Cty. P.L., Kan. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.