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The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire
- Author
- Henry Gee
- Narrator
- Henry Gee
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 13 March 2025
- Run Time
- 7 hours 27 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Rating
- 4.0 (1 review)
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What to expect
Read by the author, Henry Gee.
'Brilliant' – The Times
'Hugely informative and entertaining' – New Scientist
'Put this at the head of your reading lists immediately' – Eric Idle
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
Critics Review
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Gee has a knack for making science come alive with a vivid image and witty phrase . . . Brilliant
The Times
-
Hugely informative and entertaining . . . Gee's scholarship is impeccable and lightly worn . . . I can't think of another author who could pull off [his] straight-talking, detached yet jovial style. He is such an amiable guide to our doom
New Scientist
-
Highly engaging
The Observer
-
Absorbing . . . Gee's easy style makes this not just an informative but also an enjoyable read
John Gribbin, Literary Review
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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Fascinating
Forbes
-
At once chatty and ambitious
The New York Times
-
The wake up call our species needs . . . a strangely engrossing read, addictive because of its continuum of interesting facts . . . garnished with wit and humour
The Conversation
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A wide-ranging look at the human past and the possibility of our species' extinction . . . serious but nonetheless entertaining
Kirkus Reviews
-
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
Eric Idle
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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
Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
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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
Philip Ball, author of How Life Works and Critical Mass
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A fascinating, deeply researched study of our evolutionary journey and a wonderfully enjoyable adventure
Michael Bond, author of Wayfinding
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Beautifully crafted, superbly researched, witty, with lashes of humour . . . Compulsory reading for all humans, mandatory reading for politicians
John Long, author of The Secret History of Sharks
User Reviews
Book 4.0
Narration 4.0
-
4.0 4.0
Really interesting and thoughtful. Very wide ranging. Certainly worth a listen.
Some of it gets a bit far out.
Narrator engaging.hallwiton 2026-04-01
Details
- Author
- Henry Gee
- Narrator
- Henry Gee
- Duration
- 7 hours 27 minutes
- Release Date
- 13 March 2025
- ISBN
- 9781035032273
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- General and world history, Evolutionary anthropology / Human evolution, Space exploration
- Rating
- 4.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 4.0(1 review)
Synopsis
Read by the author, Henry Gee.'Brilliant' – The Times'Hugely informative and entertaining' – New Scientist'Put this at the head of your reading lists immediately' – Eric IdleFrom 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
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