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Annalee Newitz

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Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction Hardcover – May 14, 2013

by Annalee Newitz (Author)

4.0 236 ratings

Editors' pick Best Nonfiction

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In its 4.5 billion–year history, life on Earth has been almost erased at least half a dozen times: shattered by asteroid impacts, entombed in ice, smothered by methane, and torn apart by unfathomably powerful megavolcanoes. And we know that another global disaster is eventually headed our way. Can we survive it? How?

As a species, Homo sapiens is at a crossroads. Study of our planet’s turbulent past suggests that we are overdue for a catastrophic disaster, whether caused by nature or by human interference.
It’s a frightening prospect, as each of the Earth’s past major disasters—from meteor strikes to bombardment by cosmic radiation—resulted in a mass extinction, where more than 75 percent of the planet’s species died out. But in Scatter, Adapt, and Remember, Annalee Newitz, science journalist and editor of the science Web site io9.com explains that although global disaster is all but inevitable, our chances of long-term species survival are better than ever. Life on Earth has come close to annihilation—humans have, more than once, narrowly avoided extinction just
during the last million years—but every single time a few creatures survived, evolving to adapt to the harshest of conditions.
This brilliantly speculative work of popular science focuses on humanity’s long history of dodging the bullet, as well as on new threats that we may face in years to come. Most important, it explores how scientific breakthroughs today will help us avoid disasters tomorrow. From simulating tsunamis to studying central Turkey’s ancient underground cities; from cultivating cyanobacteria for “living cities” to designing space elevators to make space colonies cost-effective; from using math to stop pandemics to studying the remarkable survival strategies of gray whales, scientists and researchers the world over are discovering the keys to long-term resilience and learning how humans can choose life over death.
Newitz’s remarkable and fascinating journey through the science of mass extinctions is a powerful argument about human ingenuity and our ability to change. In a world populated by doomsday preppers and media commentators obsessively forecasting our demise, Scatter, Adapt, and Remember is a compelling voice of hope. It leads us away from apocalyptic thinking into a future where we live to build a better world—on this planet and perhaps on others. Readers of this book will be equipped scientifically, intellectually, and emotionally to face whatever the future holds.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, May 2013: Global warming, supervolcanoes, asteroid impacts, ice ages, and cosmic radiation. We know that, over millennia, these disasters have already ravaged the earth and its species. In fact, many scientists argue that the earth has undergone five previous mass extinctions, and that at least seventy-five percent of life on earth was exterminated by each. Now guess what? We may be living through the initial groans of the earth’s sixth mass extinction. But that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world--and Annalee Newitz, editor of the popular blog IO9 explains why in her fascinating, fast-paced, and informative book. With chapters like “A Million Year View” and “How to Build a Deathproof City” Newitz argues that we can do a lot to stick around after the apocalypse, even if there’s nothing we can do to alter the earth’s course. --Chris Schluep

Review

Praise for Scatter, Adapt, and Remember:

"As Walking Dead fans know, few things are more enjoyable than touring the apocalypse from the safety of your living room. Even as Scatter, Adapt, and Remember cheerfully reminds us that asteroid impacts, mega-volcanos and methane eruptions are certain to come, it suggests how humankind can survive and even thrive. Yes, Annalee Newitz promises, the world will end with a bang, but our species doesn't have to end with a whimper. Scatter, Adapt, and Remember is a guide to Homo sapiens' next million years. I had fun reading this book and you will too."
—Charles Mann, author of 1491

“Scatter, Adapt, and Remember is a refreshingly optimistic and well thought out dissection of that perennial worry: the coming apocalypse. While everyone else stridently shouts about the end of days, this book asks and answers a simple question: ‘If it's so bad, then why are we still alive?’ I found myself in awe of the incredible extinction events that humankind—and life in general—has already survived, and Newitz inspires us with engaging arguments that our race will keep reaching the end of the world and then keep living through it. Scatter, Adapt, and Remember intimately acquaints the reader with our two-hundred-thousand-year tradition of survival—nothing less than our shared heritage as human beings.”
—Daniel H. Wilson, author of Robopocalypse and Amped

“One part OMNI-grade optimistic futurism; one part terrifying disaster-history; entirely awesome and inspiring. A FTL rocket-ride through extinction and its discontents.”
—Cory Doctorow, author of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

“This book is not a survivalist guide but rather a grand historical overview that puts humanity in the middle of its evolution, with fascinating looks both back and forward in time. An enormous amount of knowledge is gathered here, and the book accomplishes something almost impossible, being extremely interesting on every single page. A real pleasure to read and think about.”
—Kim Stanley Robinson, author of the Mars Trilogy

"One of the best popular science books I've read in a long, long time—and perhaps the only one that takes such a clear-eyed view of the future."
—Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus

"An animated and absorbing account into how life has survived mass extinctions so far…and what we need to do to make sure humans don’t perish in the next one... Humans may be experts at destroying the planet, but we are no slouches at preserving it, either, and Newitz’s shrewd speculations are heartening."
—Kirkus Reviews

A Scientific American Recommended Book

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday; 43705th edition (May 14, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385535910
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385535915
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.47 x 1.16 x 9.6 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,075,970 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,852 in Survival & Emergency Preparedness
- #7,213 in Popular Culture in Social Sciences
- #7,320 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 236 ratings

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Annalee Newitz

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Annalee Newitz writes fiction and nonfiction about the intersection of science, technology and culture.

Their first novel, Autonomous, won the Lambda Literary Award and was nominated for the Nebula and Locus Awards. Their book Scatter, Adapt, and Remember was nominated for the LA Times Book Award. They are currently a contributing opinion writer at the New York Times. Previously, they were the founding editor of io9, and served as the editor-in-chief of Gizmodo and as the tech culture editor at Ars Technica. They have also written for publications including Wired, Popular Science, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Slate, Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, and more. They have published short stories in Lightspeed, Shimmer, Apex, and Technology Review's Twelve Tomorrows.

Annalee is the co-host of the Hugo Award-winning podcast, Our Opinions Are Correct.

They were the recipient of a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT, worked as a policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and has a Ph.D. in English and American Studies from UC Berkeley.

Learn more at AnnaleeNewitz.com or follow them on Twitter @annaleen

Customer reviews

236 global ratings

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Customers find the book thought-provoking and informative. They describe it as an enjoyable, hopeful read that reinforces humanity's precarious nature. However, opinions differ on the pacing - some find it well-written and engaging, while others feel it's repetitive and tedious.

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Thought provoking Readability Evocation of humanity Pacing

36 customers mention "Thought provoking"33 positive3 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking. They appreciate the interesting facts and interviews with real people. The science is useful and well-explained, especially about climate change. The first part provides a fascinating review of human history, illustrating adaptation and scattering. The book covers a tremendous amount of data and theory. It helps put some big ideas around their life considering geological time.

"...An interesting thought book, as she presents things in ways that I had never thought of previously, and is positive about the outcome...." Read more

"...This book covers a tremendous amount of data and theory...." Read more

"...The two truths for our future are well explained: we must start making nature work with us (instead of constantly battling it) and we must start..." Read more

"I especially appreciate the pre-history information about ice ages and greenhouse ages, plus the timeline for cataclysmic events and the various..." Read more

28 customers mention "Readability"25 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it interesting, well-researched, and engaging. The author does a good job of introducing the original thinkers.

"Interesting and positive book about the survival of mankind after a catastrophic event on earth...." Read more

"...It is probably worth a read." Read more

"...For all that, this is a good book with awfully good prose notes...." Read more

"...Mostly it was a good read with lots of thought-provoking ideas I plan to read up on." Read more

10 customers mention "Evocation of humanity"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book a valuable read on human survival. They appreciate its discussion of mass extinctions and the need for humans to become more resilient. The book is described as fascinating and inspiring, with a good balance of thought-provoking material and an insightful scientific perspective.

"Overall, I found this book to be a worthwhile discussion of mass extinction...." Read more

"...This book does an excellent job of reinforcing the precarious nature of humanity's very existence and the need for humans to become a space-faring..." Read more

"...obstacles to her theories at others, but this book takes a solid scientific swing at long-term survival of our species...." Read more

"...positive book in light of the title, I very much enjoyed the diversity of thought and the dense yet exhaustive vignette style...." Read more

15 customers mention "Pacing"7 positive8 negative

Customers have different views on the pacing of the book. Some find it well-written and engaging, while others find it repetitive and tedious. The writing is described as part narrative and part interview with scientists. Some readers feel the book seems intimidating at first but the author does a fantastic job of explaining. Others mention that the writing is disorganized and incoherent, with a forced breezyness that lacks cohesion between various subjects.

"...The prose is pleasing and the author's theories add a definite format to the discussion of survival, so I would recommend this book." Read more

"...And rightly so. 2. There is a forced, overboard, breeziness in the writing...." Read more

"...Well done, highly recommended." Read more

"...It was that bad. I made it 38%. The writing is part narrative, part interview with scientists...neither of which is done particularly..." Read more

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Hill Country Bob
Interesting approach and thoughts
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2014
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Interesting and positive book about the survival of mankind after a catastrophic event on earth.

The author reviews what has occurred on earth in the past and may occur in the future which has or would impact people. Things like a impact with a heavenly body like a large asteroid, can really impact the people. A worldwide flu or other epidemic like the great plague epidemic could have a catastrophic impact on mankind. Eruption of a super volcano like Yellowstone would have a large impact on the earth population. There there is always the favorite of the environmental community CAGW (Catastrophic Anthropogenic (man caused) Global Warming). A world wide Carrington electromagnetic event or EMP pulse generated by mankind would have a catastrophic impact on much of the world's inventory of electronics and electrical supply systems. This in turn would impact the ability to feed the people, by growing food, and distributing where it is needed.

She is optimistic throughout that mankind will come through. Yes, there are many different events that could have a very significant impact on the world's population, and some of them could kill off a large percentage of humankind. However, she believes that mankind have proved in that past that he is a dap;table, and capable of moving around the earth, and working out how to change to survive. She believes that mankind will do this again as necessary to survive.

An interesting thought book, as she presents things in ways that I had never thought of previously, and is positive about the outcome. I recommend this book to people who are interested in the possibility of catastrophic events on earth, and what might result.

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Kindle Customer
"Utopian speculations ..must come back into fashion."
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2013
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Overall, I found this book to be a worthwhile discussion of mass extinction. I personally found the first couple of chapters to be simplistic and even a bit condescending in tone to the point I nearly stopped reading at that point. I would urge you to continue the book past that point, because the writing takes on a polish and flow as it proceeds.

Questionable editorial mistakes have been noted in other reviews . I am not familiar with those points. I would add the author's labeling of the story of Exodus as the start of the Jewish diaspora. She does go on to to discuss the diaspora the Jews experienced when forced out of Jerusalem by Babylon. This dispersal is in fact the classic start of the diaspora. Her citation of Jerry Vizenor's survivance is another concept that is hazy. This refers to not surviving the destruction of a civilization at a subsistence but "but living a life that is freely chosen." The author herself has stressed that the forces that would destroy a civilization often make that choice impossible.

I have in fact pondered the choice of rating given the editorial exceptions both noted by other reviewers and from my own understanding. This book covers a tremendous amount of data and theory. The premise of our entering a possible sixth age of mass extinction is a huge undertaking, and differentials in weighing evidence would be expected. The prose is pleasing and the author's theories add a definite format to the discussion of survival, so I would recommend this book.

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17 people found this helpful

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Steve in Monterey
Lots of good facts and ideas, but I'm not buying the whole package
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2022
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The author has brought together a lot of diverse information about what helps populations (human or otherwise) survive times of stress. I have definitely learned some new things, and been given new ways of looking at others.

Like some political platforms, this is a book where I find myself nodding in agreement with four things in a row, and then totally rejecting the fifth. That's not all bad, if you think of it as food for thought.

She tends to assume that we can be satisfied with being packed into densely-packed habitats, which doesn't sound very inviting to me. I don't see our ability to produce large populations as a plus, as the author suggests early on. Over-use of resources is a big part of what has us in trouble today. Our use of industrial technology is factor which has done a lot of harm, but which can also be improved to do some good. On the other hand, more people always means more resources used, more CO2 released, and less space for the forests and crop lands we benefit from. There needs to be more attention here to how large a population can reasonably be sustained, whether on today's Earth or in some future space-based solution.

The book gives some hope that the next great extinction (whether it has already started or not) won't kill us all off, but it certainly isn't a blueprint for making that happen. It is probably worth a read.

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5 people found this helpful

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Maureen Ogle
Thinking like a species
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
I'm a historian and so I'm also a future-optimist: If we understand that the present is different from the past, then the future is ours to create. But because I'm a historian, I also know that what happens today or happened last year or will happen in ten years has relatively little impact on "the future." Because change happens slow.

So Newitz's book is, in my mind, a refreshing departure from the usual "we're all gonna die" scenarios about the future. I gather some readers here at Amazon disagree with her interpretation of science, dislike her interest in "science fiction," and were totally put off by her speculations about possible (optimistic) futures. Okay, fine.

My take is this: Newitz is dead right in her view that we humans need to think like a species if we want to survive whatever the future brings. And the book's structure supports her view: she starts with the apocalyptic "environmental" catastrophes of millennia ago to demonstrate that whatever we think is going on now is, um, short-sighted to say the least. And from there she guides through possible scenarios in which humans can survive (by scattering, adapting, and/or remembering).

Will this book appeal to the doomday-ers? No. But it sure appealed to and intrigued this optimist.

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7 people found this helpful

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Amazon Kunde
Furchtbarer Druck von Amazon
Reviewed in Germany on February 8, 2024
Verified Purchase

Printed by Amazon in Poland. Fine with me. Horrible paper quality though, Paper too white and its undulating.
Happened often in last months!

Gedruckt von Amazon on Polen. fein. Aber das papier! Zu weiß, Buch kommt wegen mangelnder Trocknung vermute ich komplett gewellt.
Das kam jetzt öfter vor leider...

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Mark Horwell
Ihave depression- u want some hope read this!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2022
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Wether u think humanity is a cancer or just another animal tryna get by, read this 4 some perspective!
P.S: read her ‘fiction’ , awesome…
(& neal Stephenson)

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gc_mountainman
Fascinating Read
Reviewed in Canada on January 31, 2015
Verified Purchase
Scatter, Adapt & Remember is a most fascinating read. In the first 60 or so pages, Newitz takes you on a speed history lesson of planet Earth. This lesson is both entertaining and factual. If only textbooks could be written with such success. The author engages the reader, and you just want to read more.

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MD
Whoa!
Reviewed in India on January 25, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book opens new horizons for the human mind, each page brings brands of surprise and disbelief. It'll be helpful if you've had a background in science and history to properly enjoy the book. If you're interested in the past-present-future if the hominins, do buy this book.
The packing was flawless, delivery quick, and customer service impeccable!

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Pedro G
Great
Reviewed in Spain on February 24, 2015
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I'd have liked more speculation and less history, though. Anyway, it's well written and accessible.

Flaw: no zombies in (just joking)

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Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction Hardcover – May 14, 2013

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Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting approach and thoughts

4.0 out of 5 stars "Utopian speculations ..must come back into fashion."

3.0 out of 5 stars Lots of good facts and ideas, but I'm not buying the whole package

5.0 out of 5 stars Thinking like a species

Top reviews from other countries

1.0 out of 5 stars Furchtbarer Druck von Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars Ihave depression- u want some hope read this!

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Read

5.0 out of 5 stars Whoa!

4.0 out of 5 stars Great

Interesting approach and thoughts

"Utopian speculations ..must come back into fashion."

Lots of good facts and ideas, but I'm not buying the whole package

Thinking like a species

Furchtbarer Druck von Amazon

Ihave depression- u want some hope read this!

Fascinating Read

Whoa!

Great