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A Guide to the End of the World: Everything You Never Wanted to Know (Paperback)

by Bill McGuire (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 216 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; illustrated edition edition (13 Mar 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0192804529
  • ISBN-13: 978-0192804525
  • Product Dimensions: 19 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 439,886 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #75 in  Books > Science & Nature > Environment & Ecology > Natural Disasters

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk reviews

Nothing lasts forever, and we are all going to die. Since we've lived with these givens all our lives, it's not really surprising that we enjoy books about the end of the world such as Bill McGuire's A Guide to the End of the World. Going all together would be so much more fun.

McGuire's account of likely natural catastrophes is a splendidly integrated mechanism, relating rising tides to volcanic eruptions, eruptions to floods, global warming to local cooling--it's amazing we've lasted as long as we have (not sarcasm: fact).

Of course, the boundary between the "natural" and the "man-made" disaster is (and has been, since we arrived on the scene) a grey area. The marked success of one species threatens extinction on all. The super-success of homo sapiens bodes ill, not only for individual species, but for the whole environment.

And this, not surprisingly, is where McGuire's book starts to leave the rails. McGuire writes: "By wiping out the bulk of species that exist today, we are destroying much of the evolution's raw material and severely limiting the planet's ability to generate the species of the future." First, this is a classic piece of misdirection: we have not, as McGuire implies, destroyed the bulk of other species (although we may in the future). More important, its conclusion is plain nonsense. The mass extinction event at the end of the Palaeozoic Era (there have been four others in Earth's history already) wiped out something like 96 per cent of all species--yet life, far from being stunted, blossomed in the gaps, more various than ever before. McGuire would do better to argue that mass extinctions make room for new species to evolve! McGuire's book is a lively entertainment. But his breast-beating is hard to swallow. --Simon Ings --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Product Description

Life on earth will come to an end. It's just a matter of when. A Guide to the End of the World focuses on the many potential catastrophes facing our planet and our species in the future, and looks at both the probability of these events happening and our chances of survival. Coverage extends from discussion of the likely consequences of the current global warming to the inevitable destruction of the earth in the far future, when it is enveloped by our giant, bloated sun. In between, other 'end of the world scenarios' will be examined, including the New Ice Age, asteroid and comet impact, supervolcanoes, and mega-tsunami.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The End is Nigh!!, 28 Aug 2003
By Colin Brodie (Edinburgh, Lothian United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Guide to the End of the World: Everything you never wanted to know (Hardcover)
Well not quite, but in this very readable and eye opening little book, Bill McGuire (dubbed ‘Disaster Man’ by the media), gives an scientific insight into the natural catastrophes that are lying in wait, ready to be unleashed upon the human race. His guide takes us through the various Armageddon type scenarios that may signal ‘adios’ to the human race; Super Volcanic Eruptions, Earthquakes, Tsunami’s, Asteroid Impacts, Global Warming and the reoccurrence of an Ice Age!

It is slightly alarming when we consider that the last volcanic super-eruption plunged the planet into a bitter volcanic winter some 73,500 years ago. While little more than 100,000 years ago gigantic waves caused by a collapsing Hawaiian volcano mercilessly pounded the entire coastline of the Pacific Ocean. However, most worryingly of all 65 million years ago a 10 kilometre wide asteroid crashed into the sea off the coast of Mexico, signalling the end for the mighty dinosaurs who had ruled the planet far longer than the human race!

The events that McGuire is examining have always been part of the earth’s history and will continue to be. He does well in conveying the message that it is simply a matter of time until one of these events will signal the end of the world as we know it today! McGuire examines the background to such events and considers the likelihood of any reoccurrence in the near future. ‘A Guide to the End of the World’ provides an intriguing read from start to finish, and left me with a healthy respect for the destructive potential of the earth and its surrounding space.
.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent...but too short, 28 Mar 2005
I bought this after seeing some of his articles in the press post the Boxing Day tsunami tragedy. The book covers all of the the key natural phenomena (tsunami, asteroid impacts, global warming, etc.) and is well-written and presented. I found it fascinating and was disappointed that it was only 185 pages or so, I could have read on for much longer. But an excellent book nonetheless, and I would be surprised if there was a better introductory text to these topics available.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The End is Nigh!, 21 Aug 2003
By Colin Brodie (Edinburgh, Lothian United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Guide to the End of the World: Everything you never wanted to know (Hardcover)
Well not quite, but in this very readable and eye opening little book, Bill McGuire (dubbed 'Disaster Man' by the media), gives an scientific insight into the natural catastrophes that are lying in wait, ready to be unleashed upon the human race. His guide takes us through the various Armageddon type scenarios that may signal 'adios' to the human race; Super Volcanic Eruptions, Earthquakes, Tsunami's, Asteroid Impacts, Global Warming and the reoccurrence of an Ice Age!

It is slightly alarming when we consider that the last volcanic super-eruption plunged the planet into a bitter volcanic winter some 73,500 years ago. While little more than 100,000 years ago gigantic waves caused by a collapsing Hawaiian volcano mercilessly pounded the entire coastline of the Pacific Ocean. However, most worryingly of all 65 million years ago a 10 kilometre wide asteroid crashed into the sea off the coast of Mexico, signalling the end for the mighty dinosaurs who had ruled the planet far longer than the human race!

The events that McGuire is examining have always been part of the earth's history and will continue to be. He does well in conveying the message that it is simply a matter of time until one of these events will signal the end of the world as we know it today! McGuire examines the background to such events and considers the likelihood of any reoccurrence in the near future. 'A Guide to the End of the World' provides an intriguing read from start to finish, and left me with a healthy respect for the destructive potential of the earth and its surrounding space.

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