The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

I’d like to thank the reference librarians at Williams College, who
tracked down books and articles that were practically untrackable, and
Jay Pasachoff, who kindly lent me his files on the end-Cretaceous
extinction.
In 2010, I was fortunate enough to receive a fellowship from the John
Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, which allowed me to travel to
places I would otherwise not have been able to go. Indirect support for
this project came from a Lannan Literary Fellowship and from the Heinz
Family Foundation.
Parts of several chapters of this book first appeared in the New Yorker.
For their counsel and support and for their patience, I am deeply indebted
to David Remnick and Dorothy Wickenden. For his always sage advice, I
want to thank John Bennet. Parts of other chapters ran in National
Geographic and on the Web site e360. I want to thank Rob Kunzig, Jamie
Shreeve, and Roger Cohn for their help and their ideas. Also many thanks
to Steven Barclay and Eliza Fischer for their unflagging support.
Thanks to Laura Wyss, Meryl Levavi, Caroline Zancan, and Vicki Haire
for transforming an unruly manuscript into a book.
Gillian Blake was the best sort of editor one could hope for on a project
like this: smart, probing, and unflappable. Whenever things seemed to be
veering off the rails, she calmly guided them back. Kathy Robbins was, as
always, matchless. Her counsel and insight were invaluable, and her good
cheer was unfailing.
Many friends and family members helped with this multiyear
endeavor, some of them probably without even realizing it. Thanks to Jim
and Karen Shepard, Andrea Barrett, Susan Greenfield, Todd Purdum,
Nancy Pick, Lawrence Douglas, and Stewart Adelson, and to Marlene,
Gerald, and Dan Kolbert. A special thanks to Barry Goldstein. Thanks, too,
to Ned Kleiner, who assisted in pulling together the very last pieces of this
book, and to Aaron and Matthew Kleiner, who never guilt-tripped their
mother for not attending their soccer games.
Finally, I want to thank my husband, John Kleiner, who once again