The Ends of the World

Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth's Past Mass Extinctions

By: Peter Brannen

Narrated by: Adam Verner

As new groundbreaking research suggests that climate change played a major role in the most extreme catastrophes in the planet's history, award-winning science journalist Peter Brannen takes us on a wild ride through the planet's five mass extinctions and, in the process, offers us a glimpse of our increasingly dangerous future.

Our world has ended five times: it has been broiled, frozen, poison-gassed, smothered, and pelted by asteroids. In The Ends of the World, Peter Brannen dives into deep time, exploring Earth’s past dead ends, and in the process, offers us a glimpse of our possible future.

Many scientists now believe that the climate shifts of the twenty-first century have analogs in these five extinctions. Using the visible clues these devastations have left behind in the fossil record, The Ends of the World takes us inside “scenes of the crime,” from South Africa to the New York Palisades, to tell the story of each extinction. Brannen examines the fossil record—which is rife with creatures like dragonflies the size of sea gulls and guillotine-mouthed fish—and introduces us to the researchers on the front lines who, using the forensic tools of modern science, are piecing together what really happened at the crime scenes of the Earth’s biggest whodunits.

Part road trip, part history, and part cautionary tale, The Ends of the World takes us on a tour of the ways that our planet has clawed itself back from the grave, and casts our future in a completely new light.

Amazing book, puts you in a profound perspective

The narration is just not good. This guy is 1 step above Fred Sanders, but still just has such an overt voice-over cadence, emphasis, I just really don't like the voice it was read in. Sounds like a movie preview, not a friend reading you a story.

great book. Awesome narrator

Just finished listening. definitely gonna give it another listen. very enjoyable book and narration. well done

Very interesting book

I enjoyed the scientific nature of this book and although it deals with a depressing end of world, it does it with humor along with some optimism and hope.

Easy to follow

A very good and enlightening look at our planet and the 5 historical mass extinctions that have taken place.

Doomsday book

There is no acknowledgment of God’s role in our being on earth. By not referring to God’s love, the author creates the reason we need a savior.