"Our relationship with nature has changed . . . radically, irreversibly, but by no means all for the bad. Our new epoch is laced with invention. Our mistakes are legion, but our talent is immeasurable." Our finest literary interpreter of science and nature, Diane Ackerman is justly celebrated for her unique insight into the natural world and our place (for better and worse) in it. In this landmark book, she confronts the unprecedented fact that the human race is now the single dominant force of change on the planet. Humans have "subdued 75 percent of the land surface, concocted a wizardry of industrial and medical marvels, strung lights all across the darkness." We now collect the DNA of vanishing species in a "frozen ark," equip orangutans with iPads, create wearable technologies and synthetic species that might one day outsmart us. Ackerman takes us on an exciting journey to understand this bewildering new reality, introducing us to many of the people and ideas now creating-perhaps saving-our future. The Human Age is a beguiling, optimistic engagement with the earth-shaking changes now affecting every part of our lives and those of our fellow creatures-a wise book that will astound, delight, and inform intelligent life for a long time to come.
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“With an inquisitive tone, narrator
Barbara Caruso dives into Diane Ackerman’s exploration of the current
geological age…Caruso’s clear, unhurried enunciation prevents listeners from
being overwhelmed by the scope of Ackerman’s research, which runs the gamut
from primates to weather to the blue revolution and beyond. The narrative is
conversational, marked by rhetorical questions that Caruso inflects perfectly
to spark the intended wonder. Despite the grim realities that led to the
Anthropocene, Ackerman—and Caruso—offer a hopeful perspective that challenges
listeners to reconsider the role that humans will play not only in nature but
also as nature, going forward.”
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