The Decline And Fall Of The Human Empire (why Our Species Is On The Edge Of Extinction)

By (author) Gee Henry
Short description/annotation:
Nature editor and Science Book Prize winner Henry Gee explores the future of our species and our probable extinction, while suggesting how, through technological innovation, we might indefinitely postpone our fate.
Description:

Chosen by The Times as a ''Book to Look Out For'' in 2025

''Put this at the head of your reading lists immediately'' – Eric Idle

''Exhilarating . . . witty, measured and enlightening'' – Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

From the winner of the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize, a thrilling and thought-provoking account of the rise and fall of humankind.

For the first time in over ten millennia, the rate of human population growth is slowing down. The global population is forecast to begin declining in the second half of this century, and in 10,000 years’ time our species will likely be extinct.

In The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire, Henry Gee shows how we arrived at this crucial moment in history, beginning his story deep in the palaeolithic past and charting our dramatic rise from one species of human among many to the most dominant animal to ever live on Earth.

But rapid climate change, a stagnating global economy, falling birth rates and an unexplainable decline in average human sperm count are combining to make our chances for longevity increasingly slim. There could be a way forward, but the launch window is narrow . . .

Drawing on a dazzling array of the latest scientific research, Gee tells the extraordinary story of humanity with characteristic warmth and wit, and suggests how our exceptional species might avoid its tragic fate.

''Like Jared Diamond meets Arthur C. Clarke with a dash of Douglas Adams'' – Philip Ball, author of How Life Works

Review quote:
Henry Gee wrote my favourite book of last year and has now written my favourite book of this year. How he manages to expand my mind, and my knowledge of life on earth, while making me giggle at our own forthcoming extinction, well, t’aint natural. Put this at the head of your reading lists immediately, people. Before it’s too late
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Exhilarating . . . With the witty and conversational style that won him the Royal Society Science Book prize, Henry Gee tackles the existential question of humanity’s future. Measured and enlightening, Henry Gee is a sage
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Like Jared Diamond meets Arthur C. Clarke with a dash of Douglas Adams, this deserves to be widely read and debated
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A fascinating, deeply researched study of our evolutionary journey and a wonderfully enjoyable adventure
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Beautifully crafted, superbly researched, witty, with lashes of humour . . . Compulsory reading for all humans, mandatory reading for politicians
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A wide-ranging look at the human past and the possibility of our species'' extinction . . . serious but nonetheless entertaining
Biographical note:
Henry Gee is a senior editor at Nature and the author of several books, including The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire, Jacob’s Ladder, In Search of Deep Time, The Science of Middle-Earth, The Accidental Species, and A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, which won the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize. He has appeared on BBC television and radio and NPR’s All Things Considered, and has written for The Guardian, The Times, and BBC Science Focus. He lives in Cromer, Norfolk, England, with his family and numerous pets.
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Nature editor and Science B