After They’re Gone

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What to expect

The past, present and future of extinction from a world-leading naturalist.

We are in the midst of an extinction event: the sixth mass extinction on earth and one entirely caused by mankind. All species become extinct sooner or later, but we have accelerated that natural process several hundredfold and now, it is happening right in front of our eyes.

Extinction has a terrifying finality to it. And many species have already been lost to us forever; there is little we can do about that.

What we can do, however, is reflect, remember, and ultimately acknowledge the unvarnished truth. We must see the natural world as it is, and not as we might want it to be. Our trajectory is one that has benefited one species alone - humankind. For all other beings, from mammals to fish, from birds to insects and coral, from plants to lichens and fungi, the future, for better or worse, is in our hands.

'Wise, challenging and offering some unexpected laughter in the dark, this is a rational and insightful account of the sixth great extinction event. Peter Marren is a brilliant writer and a national treasure.' PATRICK BARKHAM

'Thoughtful, fascinating and very timely.' STEPHEN MOSS

'Important and thought-provoking.' CAROLINE LUCAS, GREEN PARTY MP

'Essential reading. Marren makes a page-turner out of Armageddon.' SIMON BARNES

'In his characteristic style Peter Marren has humanised the story of wildlife losses with humour and wit but also with his enormous knowledge and deep love for the living world.' MARK COCKER

(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critics Review

  • Wise, challenging and offering some unexpected laughter in the dark, this is a rational and insightful account of the sixth great extinction event that we are all creating. It also contains the best succinct summary of the conservation movement in Britain that I’ve ever read. Peter Marren is a brilliant writer and a national treasure.

    Patrick Barkham

  • After They’re Gone tackles one of the huge, uncomfortable but absolutely necessary and unavoidable themes of our times. In his characteristic style Peter Marren has humanised the story of wildlife losses with humour and wit but also with his enormous knowledge and deep love for the living world.

    Mark Cocker, author and naturalist

  • Surely one of the best written books about the current extinction crisis in animals, plants and fungi, by one who has spent a lifetime working in the conservation of the organisms he loves. Marren’s tour through British wildlife in particular combines common sense and clarity of vision with a poignant sense of loss for the richness of the past.

    Richard Fortey, FRS

  • Important and thought-provoking

    Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP

  • Essential reading: Marren makes a page-turner out of Armageddon.

    Simon Barnes

  • A characteristically thoughtful, fascinating and very timely book on the process of extinction – and why it matters not just for the future of the natural world, but for us all.

    Stephen Moss, Naturalist and Author

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