Overview

The story behind Dr. Gerta Keller’s world-shattering scientific discovery that dinosaur extinction was NOT caused by asteroid impact, but rather by volcanic eruptions on the Indian peninsula, a discovery that highlights today’s existential threat of greenhouse gasses and climate change—and one that sparked an all-out war waged by the scientific establishment. Part scientific detective story, part personal odyssey, The Last Extinction is the definitive account of a radical theory that has reshaped how we understand our planet’s past and, as we face the possibility of a sixth extinction, how we might survive its future. For decades, the dominant theory held that an asteroid impact caused the dinosaurs’ extinction. But Princeton Geologist Dr. Gerta Keller followed the evidence to the truth: Deccan volcanism, a series of massive volcanic eruptions in India, triggered a long-term climate catastrophe and Earth’s fifth mass extinction. Her findings upended the field and ignited a bitter feud in modern science—what became known as the “Dinosaur Wars.” Raised in poverty on a Swiss farm and told she could never be a scientist, Keller defied expectations, earning her PhD at Stanford and battling her way into the highest ranks of Geology, eventually becoming a Professor of Paleontology and Geology at Princeton University. Her refusal to back down in the face of ridicule, sabotage, and sexism makes her story as thrilling as her science, which offers urgent insight into today’s climate crisis: Sustained planetary upheaval—not a single cataclysmic event—can plunge the planet into an age of death.

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Reviews

""Gerta Keller . . . is rattling the foundations. And the theory she supports . . . has unleashed a small tempest of its own among die-hard believers in the meteor theory, who are known as 'impacters.' . . . Keller argues that, besides a series of meteor impacts, the extinction of the dinosaurs was preceded by an intense period of volcanic eruptions that altered the climate. . . . All this makes her a maverick."" –The New York Times ""Scathing and illuminating. . . . [M]uch of the scientific community and the popular press accepted the idea that a meteor colliding with the Earth was responsible for the planet’s fifth mass extinction. Keller, however, had her doubts, and worked tirelessly to gather data. . . . Her results are shocking.""  –Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW ""With a remarkable eye for dramatic detail, the text offers a conference-by-conference record of the fierce, often malicious, opposition that Keller's model faced from some of the world's most trusted scientific institutions."" —Foreword Reviews ""A Princeton geologist has endured decades of ridicule for arguing that the fifth extinction was caused not by an asteroid, but by a series of colossal volcanic eruptions. But she's reopened that debate. . . . This dispute illuminates the messy way that science progresses and how this idealized process, ostensibly guided by objective reason and the search for truth, is shaped by ego, power, and politics."" –The Atlantic “A fascinating look at the process of researching scientific questions and the power of entrenched theory; Keller was often belittled and blocked from sharing her discoveries. She perseveres in this compelling tale, of interest to readers who enjoy books about scientific study, mass extinction theories, and the work and struggles of women scientists.” –Library Journal

""Scathing and illuminating. . . . [M]uch of the scientific community and the popular press accepted the idea that a meteor colliding with the Earth was responsible for the planet’s fifth mass extinction. Keller, however, had her doubts, and worked tirelessly to gather data. . . . Her results are shocking, and . . . demonstrate that the mass extinction was in fact due to climate change arising from volcanic activity in India’s Deccan Traps. . . . Keller chronicles the harsh treatment she faced from colleagues over her theory, and shows that the controversy has implications for the contemporary climate crisis. . . . She’s a convincing and impassioned narrator. . . . This makes a mark.""  * <B>Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW</B> *

Author Information

Gerta Keller is a Professor of Paleontology and Geology in the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University, where she has been a tenured faculty member since 1984. She has placed over 260 scientific publications in international journals and is considered a leading authority on catastrophes, mass extinctions, and the biotic and environmental effects of impacts and volcanism. She has coauthored five academic books, including Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction, Chicxulub and the KTB Mass Extinction in Texas, and Micropaleontology and Stratigraphy: Global Bioevents in Earth’s History. She is a frequent lecturer and regularly receives invitations from academic institutions around the world. In recent years, her work has received increased recognition and continues to make waves in the mainstream media, including TV documentaries and news features, radio and podcast interviews, as well as print and web media, most notably in a widely circulated profile in The Atlantic. For more information about Gerta, including a list of her most recent interviews and publications, please see http://gkeller.princeton.edu/ 

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