To #AShortHistoryOfNearlyEverything​ and #TheAgeOfWonder​, I now include #TheHumanAge as one of the finest modern science books I have ever read. If science books were written by poets, they would read like this. Because @DianeSAckerman is and "The Human Age" does.

Here, the author discusses the fact that of all the animals on planet Earth, only humans--for better or worse--have achieved dominance. Humans have “subdued 75 percent of the land surface, concocted a wizardry of industrial and medical marvels, strung lights all across the darkness.” They "garden the planet with [their] preferred species of plants and animals, many of them invasive; and [they] have even altered the climate, threatening [their] own extinction. Yet [they] reckon with [their] own destructive capabilities in extraordinary acts of hope-filled creativity: [they] collect the DNA of vanishing species in a 'frozen ark,' equip orangutans with iPads, and create wearable technologies and synthetic species that might one day outsmart [them]."

While never one to shy away from humanity's failures and challenges, Ackerman's work is one of unrelenting and unapologetic hope, a celebration of human creativity, ingenuity, compassion and insight. "The Human Age" is both optimistic and entirely beguiling, revealing where we came from, where we are now, and ferociously teasing the gobsmacking future to come.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

“These days, startling though the thought is, we control our own legacy. We’re not passive, we’re not helpless. We’re earth-movers. We can become Earth-restorers and Earth-guardians. We still have time and talent, and we have a great many choices. Our relationship with nature has changed radically, irreversibly, but by no means all for the bad. Our new epoch is laced with invention. Our mistakes are legion, but our talent is immeasurable.” ~Diane Ackerman, "The Human Age"

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