A book by a famous American paleontologist, which discusses in a popular and understandable form various problems associated with evolution that may have far-reaching consequences in the future. Unlike Dougal Dixon, the author does not paint ready-made pictures of the future, but makes an attempt to look into the future by analyzing the evolutionary processes of the past and present. The book contains virtually no descriptions of fantastic animals of future eras. Instead, P. Ward analyzes the changes occurring in evolutionary processes under the influence of humans: the nature of extinction occurring today, changes in habitats, new conditions created by humans, the influence of genetic engineering. Part of the book is devoted to questions of human evolution in the future, as well as an analysis of possible causes of human extinction.