Product Description
"The focus is the most severe mass extinction known in earth's history….The science on which the book is based is up-to-date, thorough, and balanced. Highly recommended."—Choice

Today it is common knowledge that the dinosaurs were wiped out by a meteorite impact 65 million years ago that killed half of all species then living. Far less known is a much greater catastrophe that took place at the end of the Permian period 251 million years ago: ninety percent of life was destroyed, including saber-toothed reptiles and their rhinoceros-sized prey on land, as well as vast numbers of fish and other species in the sea.

This book documents not only what happened during this gigantic mass extinction but also the recent rekindling of the idea of catastrophism. Was the end-Permian event caused by the impact of a huge meteorite or comet, or by prolonged volcanic eruption in Siberia? The evidence has been accumulating through the 1990s and into the new millennium, and Michael Benton gives his verdict at the end of the volume.

From field camps in Greenland and Russia to the laboratory bench, When Life Nearly Died involves geologists, paleontologists, environmental modelers, geochemists, astronomers, and experts on biodiversity and conservation. Their working methods are vividly described and explained, and the current disputes are revealed. The implications of our understanding of crises in the past for the current biodiversity crisis are also presented in detail. 46 illustrations.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 17 reviews)

Like a detective story

together with the author we sift through the sientific evidence.
There is no simple solution, but the questionmarks are clear answers for themselves.
January 20, 2008

Specialized vocabulary

The author hangs on to too much specialized knowledge and vocabulary for this to be interesting enough for general readers.

I was looking forward to a being led by an expert into a new area of knowledge related to geologic timescales. But I couldn't find much of the excitement that you often find in equivalent popularized science discussions by experts in astronomy or physics for example.

I think the potential is there, but this was not the author for it. The author however is clearly capable, competent, well-informed.

If you remember the times when the neighbor kid went on for hours about his rock collection and you liked it, this book is for you.

Meanwhile, I'm still looking for the author who will open the door for me to geology and other like topics.
November 26, 2006

Your guide to the Permian extinction

This is a masterfully written book on a little-known topic, the Permian "event" that caused the extinction of perhaps 90% of terrestrial and marine metazoa 251 million years ago. And what was that "event"? The author, Michael J. Benton, comes down on the side of the "Siberian Traps" a long episode of volcanism in what is now Siberia. I was sort of cheering for the asteroid, but we must go where the evidence leads, and it leads toward the traps. This is the best and most comprehensive book I have encountered on the subject of the Permian extinction. Much of the research the author cites is very recent and the work is still being conducted. Stay tuned.

October 13, 2006

Excellent Book on Evolution, Plate Tectonics, Catastrophic Events and Scientific History

There's nothing I can really say about this book which hasn't been more elequently stated elsewhere. Suffice it to say that the reader will become familiar with many of the early scientists which formulated current theory and recent advances in theories once thought absurd but are now considered pro forma, such as plate tectonics and catastrophism. While the title does imply unique focus on the Permian extinction (still its primary focus), it actually deals with the 5 largest extinction events. The book is not technical in nature at all, and should appeal to anyone who has a lay interest in the Permian period and similar epochs.
September 30, 2006

A Masterpiece

The best book yet written on the Permian extinction, "When Life Nearly Died" explores all of the possible mechanisms, and then provides the only quantifiable theory ever put forward. Benton's description and data on a rapid global warming followed by an enormous polar methane release of multi-billion tonnage is actually supported by some math that looks sound.

The meteor theory of the Permian extinction is unequivocally dismantled and others like continental drift are given deft handling. The relevance of the Permian extinction is startling to us now. If we warm the planet too much more, a huge gaseous release could erupt from beneath the oceans and wipe out 90% of all life.
August 06, 2006

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Extinction: How Life on Earth Nearly Ended 250 Million Years Ago
by Douglas H. Erwin

Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities: The Causes of Mass Extinctions
by Tony Hallam

Frozen Earth: The Once and Future Story of Ice Ages
by Doug Macdougall

Snowball Earth: The Story of a Maverick Scientist and His Theory of the Global Catastrophe That Spawned Life As We Know It
by Gabrielle Walker

Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth (Princeton Science Library)
by Andrew H. Knoll