Vanished - by Sadiah Qureshi (Paperback)
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Highlights
- Shortlisted for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize 2025 "A vital and important book.
- About the Author: Sadiah Qureshi is a writer and historian of science, race and empire.
- 496 Pages
- History, Modern
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Book Synopsis
Shortlisted for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize 2025
"A vital and important book." -- David Olusoga
From award-winning historian of race, science, and empire Sadiah Qureshi comes a groundbreaking and deeply moving history of extinction -- as a scientific idea, an imperial legacy, and a political choice.
Anyone alive today belongs to a tiny fraction of all who have ever lived: more than 90% of species that once existed are now extinct. How did we come to see ourselves as survivors in a world where species can disappear forever -- or even as agents capable of driving a sixth mass extinction?
Qureshi reveals that extinction is a surprisingly modern concept -- and not nearly as "natural" as we imagine. Until the late eighteenth century, Europeans believed species were perfect and unchanging creations of God. But as revolutions reshaped the world, scientists began to recognize that fossils -- like mammoth bones -- were not relics of still-living creatures, but evidence of species lost forever. Extinction, once a theological impossibility, became an accepted, even inevitable, truth.
Yet Vanished demonstrates that extinction is more than a scientific discovery -- it is also a political act. European and American colonizers quickly used the idea of "natural" extinction to justify violence and genocide, claiming that Indigenous peoples -- from Newfoundland's Beothuk to Aboriginal Australians -- were destined to disappear.
Drawing on pioneering research and breathtaking storytelling, Vanished explores the intertwined histories of extinction and empire to reveal how the concept has shaped our understanding of life, death, and survival -- and what it means for our planet's future.
Review Quotes
Vital... a breathtaking account of extinction-- "New Indian Express"
Wide-ranging... Qureshi deftly considers how narratives of extinction have shaped how we see the world--and each other--A Smithsonian Magazine Best Science Book 2025
Qureshi's definitive account demonstrates that histories of extinction, empire, race and genocide must be written and read together... Acknowledging extinction's unnatural history may help us choose otherwise--Helen Anne Curry "TLS"
Qureshi's rigorous, fascinating narrative traces how understanding the regrettable impermanence of species such as the dodo and the Tasmanian tiger was reformulated, by dull minds in powerful places, into a justification for exploitation-- "Telegraph Greatest Books of 2025"
Dark, persuasive, detailed, poetic... exquisitely attuned to the (often overlooked) historical and political contexts in which scientific ideas thrive--Anjana Ahuja "Financial Times"
Groundbreaking--Andrew Robinson "Nature"
Highly readable and academically rigorous... traces the entanglements of race, empire and colonialism to better understand extinction--Maya Goodfellow "Guardian"
Illuminating and disturbing in equal measure. A poignant and powerfully written account of the intellectual revolution that birthed the concept of extinction; a concept deployed to both justify and animate colonialism and even extermination. A vital and important book--David Olusoga
A poignant, compassionate exploration of the tangled and unnatural histories of extinction and empire. Professor Qureshi skilfully interweaves fascinating original research and compelling storytelling to show us that extinction is both an evolutionary process and a human act: one which illuminates our past, and may alter our future-- "Forbes"
Both authoritative and readable, panoramic in its scope and incisive in its argument... a truly original, challenging and consequential book--Gary Younge
About the Author
Sadiah Qureshi is a writer and historian of science, race and empire. Currently a Chair of Modern British History at the University of Manchester, she has written for the London Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement and New Statesman. She cannot bear the thought of living in a world without trees or tigers.
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Q: Is this book appropriate for younger readers?
A: This book is suggested for readers aged 22 years and up.
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Q: Who is the author of this book?
A: The author of the book is Sadiah Qureshi.
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Q: What is the total number of pages in the book?
A: The book contains a total of 496 pages.
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Q: What type of book format is available?
A: The book is available in a paperback format.
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Q: What is the genre of this book?
A: The book falls under the genre of history, specifically modern history.
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