Life on a Little-Known Planet

Kolbert’s writing is serious but adroit [with] just enough wry humour. The necessity of fitting huge subjects into 20 clear pages suits her style. Each essay is pacy, with energising turns ... Kolbert [is] a necessary voice on the environment

Observer

Kolbert is one of our most important and lucid voices on climate change, and she’s been ringing the bell for longer than most. This book ... will be essential

Literary Hub

All are exceptional pieces of writing… the most recent [in the collection] feel truly timely

Times Literary Supplement

Elizabeth Kolbert's writing illuminates the world's complexities in vivid colour. No one contextualises the natural world better than she does, and no one is able to describe its many facets better than her

Harriet Rix, author of The Genius of Trees

No one rivals Kolbert’s ability to write deeply, empathetically and engagingly about mankind’s relationship with the physical world ... She brings curiosity and persistence to the most important issues facing humankind

Chris Goodall, author of What We Need to Do Now

There is surely no better way to understand our changing world than through the uniquely engaging perspectives provided by Elizabeth Kolbert. Joining her on this round-the-world voyage to some of the most incredible places on Earth is a treat ... Immensely sobering yet also inspiring

Chris Fitch, author of Wild Cities

Kolbert, in her clean, precise prose, asks us ... to be curious, to pay attention, and not look away from the imperilled beauty of our planet ... The book works well as a primer for the guiding issues and ideas that comprise 21st-century environmentalism ... Kolbert has a knack for elucidating abstract concepts - sea level rise, de-extinction, genetic engineering, invasive species - by locating them in particular places and people

Adam Weymouth, Resurgence & Ecologist

Kolbert gracefully balances a realistic awareness of losses brought about by human activity -particularly by the use of fossil fuels - with a sense of wonder at just how much there is still to learn about this ‘little-known planet’ and admiration for those who quixotically explore and attempt to heal it. ... Despair and hope dance together [in these] thought-provoking speculations about a world on the edge of violent change

Kirkus Review, starred review

Kolbert brings every creature, place, person, fact, and issue to scintillating life in these deft, engaging, lucid, and thought-provoking dispatches covering 20 years of her world travels during epic planetary changes. ... Kolbert resolutely and brilliantly alerts us to how little we know about our precious planet, how much harm we do, and how we must and can do better

Booklist