Mass Xtinction

A big thanks to Faulty Landscape for recommending this one--I'd not cracked a lay science tome since perhaps the early '90s, and tonight I read half of this sitting here in the Liberry. A good, quick read, enlivened by Ward's ability to nest his paleontological musings contextually; we get South African politics and travelogue, character studies, and cultural anthropology along the way:

The heavy-handed [South African] government had censored Western films and music, so the local radio stations played an endless selection of Carpenters music. I felt that I would go mad as anorexic Karen Carpenter crooned bad sugar from every mall and elevator.

Started at 8pm, and I may finish it tonight!