This useful new book answers the need for data-driven estimates of recent (1600 onwards) extinction rates as a basis for more accurate projections of extinction rates for the centuries to come. This book provides a more wide-ranging and data-driven treatment of present and likely future rates of extinction than any text currently available. It is directed broadly at senior undergraduates, postgraduate students and research workers in the fields of ecology, conservation biology and the environmental sciences. The authors highlight apparent differences in extinction rates among taxonomic groups and places, aiming to identify unresolved issues and important questions.