David M. Raup is the Sewell Avery Distinguished Service Professor and a statistical paleontologist at the University
of Chicago.
Review
"An eminently entertaining and informative read."
--Malcolm W. Browne, New York Times Book Review
"A delightful little book about life on this planet and about extinctions, in particular. It is as much about
the philosophy and methodology of science as about the downside of evolution."
--Clark R. Chapman, Planetary Science Institute
"David Raup's Extinction will change the way many of us perceive our world. In a style that is both elegant
and persuasive, Raup undercuts the popular and comfortable notions that extinction is a mark of failure. . . .
We are shown a world that is less certain, but in many ways more interesting than the one we imagined we occupied."
--Roger Lewin, author of Bones of Contention
Norton Publishing Web Site, December, 2003
Summary
In the geological record, there are five major mass extinctions--the "Big Five." The most famous happened
at the end of the Cretaceous Period, when the dinosaurs and two-thirds of all marine animal species were wiped
out, opening the door for the age of mammals and the rise of Homo Sapiens. Using this example as a springboard,
David M. Raup leaps into an egaging discussion of the theories, assumptions, and difficulties associated with the
science of species extinction. Woven is along the way are stories of the trilobite eye, tropical reefs, flying
reptiles, and the fate of the heath hen on Martha's Vineyard, a very modern extinction.
This is the first major book to present a comprehensive overview of the current state of extinction studies. At
the end of the journey, Raup has put forward the best science of the day to answer the question posed by the title:
Bad genes or bad luck?
