A science reporter investigates the apocalyptic potential—and probability—of asteroids, supervolcanoes, nuclear war, and other megathreats as well as the plans being made to meet each existential risk.
Describing...plans to counter extinction threats is what makes End Times stand out. It’s not just another doomsday book. Walsh offers insight into some options that are within reach, such as carbon-capture technology to pull carbon dioxide out of the air to curb the effects of climate change ... End Times isn’t all doom and gloom. Walsh adds some lightness to otherwise grim visions of humankind’s future by sprinkling in humor and colorful anecdotes throughout the book ... Ultimately, End Times serves as a wake-up call, letting people know that 'we’re not helpless in the face of those threats,' Walsh writes.
... written in an engaging style that is by turns inviting and slightly irksome. The well-worn tactic of American feature-writing, the inclusion of copious narrative and ‘atmospheric’ details about the author’s legging around researching the book, occasionally rings a little tinny here, given the book’s subject matter; the cranky state of a rental car’s air conditioning seems like a bit of distraction laid alongside the threat of thermonuclear annihilation. And the book’s many stretches of evocative prose can sometimes start to slip out of our author’s grasp ... Walsh consults with the wisest, most experienced people in the various fields of study touched by his worst-case scenarios, and as such experts have been doing since the dawn of modern science, they spend a good deal of effort at the tricky task of simultaneously describing and downplaying the magnitude of their respective monster threats...This is the nature of disaster-books like this one; like any cheesy horror movie, they seek to alarm and assure at the same time.
A fascinating and frightening exploration ... An engaging writer, the author is most compelling when he outlines 'how our species can survive the unsurvivable' through planning, perseverance, and an unshakable desire to carry on. A disturbing, riveting, and ultimately hopeful call to arms.
