Julia Adeney Thomas is Associate Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame. Mark Williams is Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Leicester and co-director of the International Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironments at Yunnan University. Jan Zalasiewicz is Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Leicester and Chair of the Anthropocene Working Group of the International Commission on Stratigraphy.

Preface

1. The Multidisciplinary Anthropocene

2. The Geological Context of the Anthropocene

3. The Anthropocene as a Geological Time Unit and the Great Acceleration

4. The Anthropocene and Climate Change

5. The Anthropocene and the Biosphere's Transformation

6. The "Anthropos" of the Anthropocene

7. Economics and Politics of the Anthropocene

8. Existential Challenges in the Anthropocene

"An accessible tour de force and an ideal starting point for anyone seeking an understanding of the Anthropocene predicament."
John R. McNeill, Georgetown University

"Earth System scientists have proposed the Anthropocene and geologists are confirming its reality. This work explores more important questions: what does the Anthropocene really mean for humanity and what are the many ways we could deal with it?"
Will Steffen, Australian National University

"The big market for this book in Australia is the "educated general reader" and they will love it. It is not so much an "introductory course book" for them, but rather a review book that empowers them to understand and take action. It is a tour-de-force."
Libby Robin, author of The Environment: A History of the Idea

"An indispensable guide... The Anthropocene maps cultural and scientific definitions of its subject in ways that experts will find provocative and students accessible."
Green Letters

"This book should be required introductory reading for anyone interested in learning about the Anthropocene, and particularly for those concerned about the broad but intertwined challenges facing humanity, our environments, and the planet."
The Holocene

"A well-developed guide for readers seeking to better understand not only the Anthropocene as a period, but as a culture. Readers come away from the book with a sense of urgency that the realities brought about by our current epoch - climate change, resource stress, and extinctions - will require global and multidisciplinary efforts to effect a hopeful future."
The Geoscientist