AFTER THEY'RE GONE by Peter Marren, read by Stephen Boxer - audiobook extract
b'The past, present and future of extinction from a world-leading naturalist.\\n\\nWe 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.\\n\\nExtinction has a terrifying finality to it. And many species have already been lost to us forever; there is little we can do about that.\\n\\nWhat 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\\u2014humankind. 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.'