How to Survive the End of the World
A Graphic Exploration of How to (Maybe) Avoid Extinction
Since 99.9 percent of all species that have lived are extinct, it’s bound to be our turn eventually, right? So what’s most likely to kill us? A well-timed asteroid? Some new robot overlords? With wit and dry humor, debut graphic novelist Katy Doughty blends science and history to explore our chances of surviving disasters such as plagues, global warming, and alien invasion. Drawing on interviews with experts in fields like infectious diseases, AI, and interplanetary exploration, she combines cutting-edge research with compelling visuals: mugshots of the deadliest microbes, graphs of the winners and losers of mass extinction events, and a whole lot of dinosaur drawings. For apocalypse aficionados, the morbidly curious, and the just plain curious, this is your antidote to existential dread—a timely, imaginative, and ultimately hopeful take on humankind’s ability to survive the odds.
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“The author has distilled an impressive amount of research into a lucid, matter-of-fact narrative—and, counterintuitive though it may seem, there’s a pervasive optimism running through the doom and gloom, a conviction that no matter what goes down, humanity is special enough that something of us will survive. The attractive illustrations in highly saturated colors illuminate the content through both imaginative whimsy and helpful diagrams. Brilliant; at once terrifying and fascinating.”
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
“For such a dire topic, the tone is engaging and hardly doom-and-gloom, blending a huge variety of topics with a charming gallows humor. . . . The end won’t be pretty, but Doughty makes it pretty darn amusing.
BookPage, starred review
“[Doughty’s] approach to these huge issues is endlessly inviting… Doughty is an excellent narrator, lending historical perspective while distilling swarms of information into comprehensible nuggets. Although these are serious topics treated seriously, she throws in plenty of humor, such as explaining that one can eat a small amount of plutonium and not get sick," adding a footnote advising, "Please don't." It's a wildly entertaining approach….How to Survive the End of the World is a not-to-be-missed treat that will leave readers wiser-and inspired to stop doomscrolling and start acting. This is exactly the compendium that many readers have been yearning for.”