Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Introduction: Why Extinction Matters 1
4. 1. The Meaning of Extinction: Catastrophe, Equilibrium, and Diversity 17
5. 2. Extinction in a Victorian Key 47
6. 3. Catastrophe and Modernity 83
7. 4. Extinction in the Shadow of the Bomb 127
8. 5. The Asteroid and the Dinosaur 169
9. 6. A Sixth Extinction? The Making of a Biodiversity Crisis 229
10. Epilogue: Extinction in the Anthropocene 295
11. Acknowledgments 309
12. Notes 313
13. Works Cited 327
14. Index 343