A Natural History of the Future

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What to expect

A leading ecologist argues that if humankind is to survive on a fragile planet, we must understand and obey its iron laws.

Over the past century, our species has made unprecedented technological innovations with which we have sought to control nature. From river levees to enormous one-crop fields, we continue to try to reshape nature for our purposes - so much so it seems we may be in danger of destroying it.

In A Natural History of the Future, biologist Rob Dunn argues that nothing could be further from the truth: rather than asking whether nature will survive us, better to ask whether we will survive nature. Despite our best - or worst - efforts to control the biological world, life has its own rules, and no amount of human tampering can rewrite them. Elucidating several fundamental laws of ecology, evolution, and biogeography, Dunn shows why life cannot be stopped. We sequester our crops on monocultured fields, only to find new life emerging to attack them. We dump toxic waste only to find microbes to colonize it. And even in the London Tube, we have seen a new species of mosquito emerge to take advantage of an apparently inhospitable habitat. Life will not be repressed by our best-laid plans. Instead, Dunn shows us a vision of the biological future and the challenges the next generations could face.

A Natural History of the Future sets a new standard for understanding the diversity of life and our future as a species.

(P) 2022 Hachette Audio

Critics Review

  • Rob Dunn sketches an arresting vision of this relentless natural world . . . If we want to know what’s coming, then, we would be well advised to familiarize ourselves with them, Dunn argues. To that end, his book functions as a helpful crash course in ecology and, as the title implies, an augur of sorts

    The New York Times Book Review

  • [A] lucid discussion . . . Dunn’s absorbing analysis advocates making the most of the few certainties we have

    Scientific American

  • Even if we could halt fossil fuel emissions tomorrow, we would still need to make some big changes. Evolutionary biologist Rob Dunn’s timely new book . . . is a guide to this complex problem and offers palatable solutions . . . a clear and important read

    Mary Ellen Hannibal, Science

  • A stimulating exploration . . . The author avoids the usual implausible how-to-fix-it conclusion . . . Instead, he offers a book that is less doomsday prophecy and more excellent primer on ecology and evolution. An imaginative, sensible education for those concerned with the fate of the Earth

    Kirkus Reviews

  • A fascinating, shocking, and inspiring guide to the future by one of the most creative and eloquent biologists of our time. Dunn’s book is packed full of insight from the latest scientific discoveries about the wonders and troubles of the living Earth

    David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen

  • A timely, thought-provoking analysis, delivered in the affable prose that has become Dunn’s hallmark

    Thor Hanson, author of Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid

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