How To Survive The End Of The World by Katy Doughty

with the subtitle A Graphic Exploration Of How To (Maybe) Avoid Extinction. And while this book is aimed at teens, I think that anyone with an interest in science and the many different ways in which the world could end will gain a lot from this well-researched and innovatively drawn volume.

Never has the end of life as we know it been depicted in such a warmly realistic manner. Katy Doughty examines all the different science-based ways in which the end of the world has captured the human imagination in recent years — with a quick nod to the end times prophesied by various faiths and cultures over the centuries — and discusses their likelihood in a level-headed manner. She not only draws on established research but also consults with various scientists and activists who make excellent cameos here as they talk about their areas of expertise, whether they be in epidemiology, anthropology, climate justice or more.

Critically, Ms Doughty doesn’t just talk about a global extermination event for humanity, but also about the kind of rapid, destabilizing change that would mean the death of our old ways of life and the emergence of something new, strange and not necessarily for the better… but also not necessarily for the worse. That said, the interview with Dr Lawrence Gross regarding the trauma of such devastating change is really excellently done, both in how sorrowful it made me feel for the past and how hopeful it made me feel for the future.

And that’s basically the thesis of this book, that no matter what happens, human beings have already and always shown extraordinary resilience, and that our history to date is a powerful testament to who we are as a species. We’re not perfect, and we have done some truly terrible things to each other. But in a world with no guarantees, the fact that we’ve also done amazing things and, perhaps even more importantly, that we persist in doing good is perhaps enough, if not to justify our ongoing survival outright, then as an epitaph on a worthwhile existence in the face of inevitability.

Anyway, the bulk of the book is divided into chapters on the main ways in which the world could end. Plagues And Pandemics, Deadly Blasts, Climate Meltdown, Killer Machines, Falling Skies and Cosmic Collapse all get their evaluations, in addition to explanations of how scientists, activists and everyday people are working to prevent these final curtains. For a book on such grim topics — each scenario is extrapolated and described logically from current events — it is tremendously upbeat, and neither in a utilitarian nor a cynical manner. It is actually one of the best representatives of the hopepunk movement in non-fiction format that I’ve ever read, particularly in the way it believes that communities have the power to shape recognizably happy and prosperous continuing futures for all humanity.

I really needed to read this book when I did, and I think it will resonate with plenty of other readers, too. Highly recommended, both for the intellectual content and the humanistic way that Ms Doughty renders it in both text and imagery.

How To Survive The End Of The World by Katy Doughty was published March 31 2026 by MITeen Press and is available from all good booksellers, including