Life on a Little-Known Planet

Dispatches from a Changing World

By: Elizabeth Kolbert

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

Brought to you by Penguin.

Elizabeth Kolbert, one of our most influential writers on the environment and author of the iconic The Sixth Extinction, brings together her most urgent reporting and inspiring lessons from the frontlines of the climate catastrophe.

From Greenland’s melting ice sheets to New Zealand’s protected mountaintops, we join Kolbert on the road as she travels to the places most dramatically affected by climate change – revealing a world which is both dangerously fragile and remarkably resilient.

We encounter newly discovered species and meet the last surviving members of others, witness the power of rewilding up close and are reminded of the abounding wonders of our natural world. Along the way we also meet countless brilliant individuals who are steering us towards a better future: scientists harnessing AI to commune with whales; activists successfully lobbying for the rights of nature; and ordinary people making extraordinary moves, such as the Samsø islanders leading completely carbon-neutral lives.

The natural world is changing profoundly, and the threats to our planet are only growing more serious. Now is the time to deepen our understanding of this incredible world we are in danger of losing – and to act, while we still can.

‘To be a well-informed citizen of Planet Earth, you need to read Elizabeth Kolbert’ ROLLING STONE

‘One the great science journalists ... An essential voice’ HELEN MACDONALD

'No one rivals Kolbert's ability to write deeply, empathetically and engagingly about mankind's relationship with the physical world' CHRIS GOODALL

'Kolbert's writing illuminates the world's complexities in vivid colour: no one contextualises the natural world better than she does' HARRIET RIX

'There is no better way to understand our changing world than through Elizabeth Kolbert' CHRIS FITCH

© Elizabeth Kolbert 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critic reviews

An intimate portrait of the natural world ... With clear-eyed urgency and a measure of tenderness, Kolbert chronicles the lives of people trying to hold on to what's slipping away

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

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

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)

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

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

There is a great deal that humanity doesn’t know about how the world works, and expanding that knowledge may turn out to be crucial ... Life on a Little-known Planet is a worthwhile and convenient collection from one of the best-known writers on climate change and the environment