David Quammen

Quammen’s science journalism creates a fascinating blend of exploration and storytelling.  A National Book Award Finalist, he explains complicated science concepts to his audiences.  Author of Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus. Three-time winner of the National Magazine Award (the Ellie) and author of 15 books, Quammen is one of the world’s top nature and science writers.

  • National Book Award Finalist for Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus
  • Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic — an astonishing quest to discover how and why these diseases emerge, and he asks the terrifying question: What might the next big one be, and when will it surface? As it turns out … now we know, it’s Covid-19
  • Honored with an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and is three-time recipient of the National Magazine Award
  • His work has appeared in Harper’s, National Geographic, The Atlantic, The New York Times Book Review, and in many anthologies, including: “The Best American Science Writing 2005”
  • Author of what many consider the definitive biography on Charles Darwin, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin
  • In May 2016, National Geographic published a special issue, devoted entirely to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It was the first time in the 128-year history of National Geographic that a single author (David Quammen) was invited to write a complete issue.

David Quammen Spillover  David Quammen The Song of the Dodo David Quammen The Reluctant Mr Darwin

 

Video: Emerging Diseases and the next Human Pandemic 

David Quammen is simply the best natural essayist working today.

- Tim Cahill, author of Lost in My Own Backyard

Rich detail and vivid anecdotes of adventure....A treasure trove of exotic fact and hard thinking.

- The New York Times , frontpage

…with clarity, brevity, and quick, colorful anecdotes, he sketches a compelling story.

- Gregory M. Lamb, Christian Science Monitor

…the event was a huge success. David packed the auditorium and we had community come to our lecture who had never been on campus before! ...charming, witty and very interesting...

- University of Nevada Reno