Title: How to Survive the End of the World: A Graphic Exploration of How to (Maybe) Avoid Extinction by Katy Doughty
Book Beginnings:
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| Page one: How did the human story start? Science tells us that we began with some apes who stood a little taller. ( From the theory of evolution) From religion and mythology come origin stories of a divine breath that brought some dirt to life... (From the book of Genesis in the Bible and Torah.) |
Friday56:
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| Page 61: There have been five mass extinctions in Earth's history. Volcanoes had a hand in at least two of them. (Chart list these five events and answers the percentage of species extinct, the cause, losers, winners.) |
Summary:
Since 99.9 percent of all species that have lived are extinct, it’s bound to be our turn eventually, right? So what’s most likely to kill us? A well-timed asteroid? Some new robot overlords? With wit and dry humor, debut graphic novelist Katy Doughty blends science and history to explore our chances of surviving disasters such as plagues, global warming, and alien invasion. Drawing on interviews with experts in fields like infectious diseases, AI, and interplanetary exploration, she combines cutting-edge research with compelling visuals: mugshots of the deadliest microbes, graphs of the winners and losers of mass extinction events, and a whole lot of dinosaur drawings. For apocalypse aficionados, the morbidly curious, and the just plain curious, this is your antidote to existential dread—a timely, imaginative, and ultimately hopeful take on humankind’s ability to survive the odds. (Publisher)
Review: I like getting my information from a variety of sources, so when I saw a graphic (illustrated) book, about how we can possibly avoid extinction from climate change, I snapped it up. And I have to confess that by-in-large the reading experience was just about perfect for my recent attention span.
The information was divided into eight chapters/categories/themes: The Beginning; Plagues and Pandemics: Deadly Blasts; Climate Meltdown; Killer Machines; Falling Skies; Cosmic Collapse; and The End. The first photo was taken from the Beginning, theories and science behind how the earth and humans came into existence. I like that there is both the science and the mythology/religious aspects to the explanations. As a teacher it was always apparent to me that students needed to know that we honored their religious beliefs.
The second page photo was from the section about blasts which includes volcanoes and, sadly, bombs. Of the five extinction events the Earth has encountered in the past, three were from volcanoes.
I had the most trouble reading the section called Killing Machines which dealt in part with artificial intelligence. Right before reading the book I had seen an interview with a man who has recently published a book about ways to use AI for good (as compared to nefarious purposes?) He said something which really shook me up. When the industrial revolution started it took society about 100 years to change and adapt. With AI we may have three years, if that. Gulp. I wasn't interested in feeling worried or scared so I sort of zipped through this section.
The last chapter, The End, ended on a surprisingly hopeful and positive note, as you can see from the illustrations below:
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| It takes courage to imagine the end of the world-- and even more courage to try to change the ending. |
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| But if you imagine the end of the world, what other ends can you imagine? The end of greed? The end of violence? It takes wisdom to see yourself as part of these stories. You may find a piece of yourself, and of humanity, that is permanent: some history we came from and some legacy we will leave behind... |
This book is a good one and very worthy of your attention. Check it out from your library. If your library doesn't have a copy, request that they purchase one. A book for all ages.
My rating: 5 stars.
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