Like the bird whose death signaled dangerous conditions in a mine, the
demise of animals that once flourished should give humans pause. How is
our fate linked to the earth's creatures, and the cycle of flourishing
and extinction? Which are the simple workings of nature's order, and
which are omens of ecological disaster? Does human activity accelerate
extinction? What really causes it? In an illuminating and elegantly
written account of the widespread reduction of the world's wildlife,
renowned paleontologist Niles Eldredge poses these questions and
examines humankind's role in the larger life cycles of the earth,
composing a provocative general theory of extinction.