Not only does this book show how multiple times life on our EARTH has been nearly whipped out. How life life survived but most species did not. How over time the life forms grew changed and repopulated the Earth only to go through the cycle again. The danger of rising amounts of Carbon DIoxide is largely responsible, the catastrophic destruction of life. Involving volcanic eruptions and green house gases. And now humanities industrial, agricultural practices and waste disposal bring us closer to the next extinction.

I really enjoyed how Peter Brannen explained the evidence from the geologic studies that underpin our ideas about great mass extinctions in Earth’s history. His attempt to connect today’s challenges of climate change with past events that changed the Earth is thought provoking. The discussion of the asteroid impact and dinosaur extinction and the connection to mass volcanism is believable given the scale of the earthquake waves produced by the asteroid. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in how and why climate can change the earth in dramatic ways.