2. Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction, by Annalee Newitz (2013. Doubleday)

This year I’m keeping track of all the books I read and you are going to see A LOT of entries that are being read in research for my own book, working title The End, due out 2018 from Chicago Review Press. I will be working on it until Nov.2017, so almost a year of reading about the end of the world and global catastrophe. When I’m done, I’m planning to read Hello Kitty comic books for a month as a palate cleanser.

I won’t be writing in-depth reviews, but I’ll share a couple notes and let you know if I recommend it or not.

Scatter, Adapt, and Remember was well written, well researched, and ultimately optimistic on the Earth’s ability to survive disaster. It gave a fascinating overview of the mass extinctions the earth has faced over millions of years and how animals and humans have persevered by using the three keywords of the title. I learned a lot about a variety of things from Google Flu Trends to the ancient (literally) underground Turkish village of Göleme.

Recommended? YES.