**2013 Orion Book Award Winner
2013 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award Winner
**
Ours is not a stable planet. It is prone to sudden, violent natural
disasters and extremes of climate. In this exhilarating exploration of
our globe, Craig Childs goes to where the apocalypse can be seen now.
From the driest deserts of Chile, through the genetic wasteland of
central Iowa, to the site of the drowned land bridge of the Bering Sea,
he uncovers cataclysms that tell us what could be next: forthcoming ice
ages, super volcanoes, and the conclusion of planetary life cycles.
Childs delivers a sensual feast in his descriptions of the natural
world, and undeniable science that reveals both the earth's strengths
and frailties. Bearing witness to the planet's sweeping and perilous
changes, he shows how we can alter the future, and how the world will
live on, though humans may not survive to see it.