A Hopeful Nonfiction About the End of the World

By Kayla W

Dropped onto my table at the library was a separation from what I usually read- a thick but brightly colored, and relatively recently published nonfiction book. The tagline had "Humans" and "a Mass Extinction", which was jarring and initially not incredibly compelling to my tastes. However that tagline "how humans will survive a mass extinction" was what intriguing to me enough to check out Scatter, Adapt, and Remember by Annalee Newitz.

The book is divided up into palatable parts each with their own focused chapters. Combined with well-sourced material that is in plain and readable English and infographics as well as statistics tables and illustrations, it is a breeze to read through despite its long length. The novel begins with geologic and anthropologic history of the Earth through mass extinctions and later close calls of human survivability. The writing then continues to stories of cultural history involving survival through disasters and diaspora. To finish the book (before the hefty notes, credits, and index) the writer speculates through inspiration of real life projects and science fiction, of how humans as a species can best prepare our collective survival starting from the present, all the way to the far future.

In spite of its genre and topic matter, or perhaps because of it, the book ends up shrugging off grim pessimism while still facing reality, and carries a hopeful and well informed air. Compared to most nonfiction or even fiction novels, its refreshing freedom from angst is a welcome change. From the enthusiastic tone of the writer and engagement with the material it is obvious this is a work of love, and it makes it all the more of a joy to read. The only thing it feels like it is missing is a full documentary series based from it to give it the visual graphics and recognition it deserves.

For those short of patience like myself, this book can be a challenge. However, it is only a mild one, thanks to its many pictures, easy language, and the writer's passion,  Annalee Newitz's Scatter, Adapt, and Remember is a worthy read even for those not into nonfiction, disasters, science, or history.

Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction, by Annalee Newitz, originally published by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, 2013, 305 pages.