{"title":"David Quammen","description":"David Quammen's books include Breathless, The Tangled Tree, The Song of the Dodo, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, and Spillover. He has written for The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine,  The Atlantic, National Geographic, and Outside, among other magazines, and is a three-time winner of the National Magazine Award. Quammen shares a home in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife, Betsy Gaines Quammen, author of American Zion, and with three Russian wolfhounds, a cross-eyed cat, and a rescue python. Visit him at DavidQuammen.com.","products":[{"product_id":"spillover-animal-infections-and-the-next-human-pandemic-paperback","title":"Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 2020, the novel coronavirus gripped the world in a global pandemic and led to the death of hundreds of thousands. The source of the previously unknown virus? Bats. This phenomenon--in which a new pathogen comes to humans from wildlife--is known as spillover, and it may not be long before it happens again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Prior to the emergence of our latest health crisis, renowned science writer David Quammen was traveling the globe to better understand spillover's devastating potential. For five years he followed scientists to a rooftop in Bangladesh, a forest in the Congo, a Chinese rat farm, and a suburban woodland in New York, and through high-biosecurity laboratories. He interviewed survivors and gathered stories of the dead. He found surprises in the latest research, alarm among public health officials, and deep concern in the eyes of researchers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eSpillover\u003c\/em\u003e delivers the science, the history, the mystery, and the human anguish of disease outbreaks as gripping drama. And it asks questions more urgent now than ever before: From what innocent creature, in what remote landscape, will the Next Big One emerge? Are pandemics independent misfortunes, or linked? Are they merely happening to us, or are we somehow causing them? What can be done? Quammen traces the origins of Ebola, Marburg, SARS, avian influenza, Lyme disease, and other bizarre cases of spillover, including the grim, unexpected story of how AIDS began from a single Cameroonian chimpanzee. The result is more than a clarion work of reportage. It's also the elegantly told tale of a quest, through time and landscape, for a new understanding of how our world works--and how we can survive within it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51376770744543,"sku":"9780393346619","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/KQjbdCmAcF9780393346619.webp?v=1789225294"},{"product_id":"the-song-of-the-dodo-island-biogeography-in-an-age-of-extinctions-paperback","title":"The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Compulsively readable--a masterpiece, maybe the masterpiece of science journalism.\" --Bill McKibben, AudubonA brilliant, stirring work, breathtaking in its scope and far-reaching in its message, The Song of the Dodo is a crucial book in precarious times. Through personal observation, scientific theory, and history, David Quammen examines the mysteries of evolution and extinction and radically alters our understanding of the natural world and our place within it. In this landmark of science writing, we learn how the isolation of islands makes them natural laboratories of evolutionary extravagance, as seen in the dragons of Komodo, the elephant birds of Madagascar, the giant tortoises of the Galapagos. But the dark message of island studies is that isolated ecosystems, whether natural or human-made, are also hotbeds of extinction. And as the world's landscapes, from Tasmania to the Amazon to Yellowstone, are carved into pieces by human activity, the implications of this knowledge are more urgent than ever. An unforgettable scientific adventure, a fascinating account of an eight-year journey of discovery, and a wake-up call for our time, David Quammen's The Song of the Dodo is an exquisitely written book that takes the reader on a globe-circling tour of wild places and extraordinary ideas.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51376887627999,"sku":"9780684827124","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/Pr9_p4JFXB9780684827124.webp?v=1789228868"},{"product_id":"yellowstone-a-journey-through-americas-wild-heart-hardcover","title":"Yellowstone: A Journey Through America's Wild Heart - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eBest-selling author David Quammen takes readers on a breathtaking journey through America's most inspiring and imperiled ecosystem--Yellowstone National Park--in this monumental book on America's first national park. Yellowstone's storied past, rich ecosystem, and dynamic landscape are brilliantly portrayed in a captivating mosaic of photographs and eloquently written text that blend history, science, and research from the field. As much a visual ode to nature as an intimate tour of one of the world's most celebrated conservation areas, this gorgeous book illuminates the park's treasures grand and small--from the iconic Old Faithful to the rare gray wolf; from misty mountain tops to iridescent springs; and from sweeping valleys to flourishing wild blooms. In four illuminating sections that combine photos, sidebars, and graphics with elegantly crafted text, this book brings readers deeper into the life of the park than ever before, both commemorating its beauty and highlighting its challenges. This book is an essential addition to the National Parks' 100th anniversary celebration and will remind readers why conservation is worth every effort.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51376902406367,"sku":"9781426217548","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/tsLEimeLd99781426217548.webp?v=1789228909"},{"product_id":"the-tangled-tree-a-radical-new-history-of-life-paperback","title":"The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller and longlist nominee for the National Book Award, \"our greatest living chronicler of the natural world\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e), David Quammen explains how recent discoveries in molecular biology, evolutionary biology, and genetics and genomics affect our understanding of evolution and life's history.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the mid-1970s, scientists began using DNA sequencing to reexamine the history of all life. Perhaps the most startling discovery to come out of this new field--the study of life's diversity and relatedness at the molecular level--is horizontal gene transfer (HGT), or the movement of genes across species lines. It turns out that HGT has been widespread and important; we now know that roughly eight percent of the human genome arrived sideways by viral infection--a type of HGT. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Tangled Tree\u003c\/i\u003e, \"the grandest tale in biology....David Quammen presents the science--and the scientists involved--with patience, candor, and flair\" (\u003ci\u003eNature\u003c\/i\u003e). We learn about the major players, such as Carl Woese, the most important little-known biologist of the 20th century; Lynn Margulis, the notorious maverick whose wild ideas about \"mosaic\" creatures proved to be true; and Tsutomu Wantanabe, who discovered that the scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and superbugs including MRSA are a direct result of horizontal gene transfer, bringing the deep study of genome histories to bear on a global crisis in public health. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"David Quammen proves to be an immensely well-informed guide to a complex story\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e). In \u003ci\u003eThe Tangled Tree\u003c\/i\u003e, he explains how molecular studies of evolution have brought startling recognitions about the tangled tree of life--including where we humans fit upon it. Thanks to new technologies, we now have the ability to alter even our genetic composition through CRISPR and gene editing--via sideways insertions, as nature has long been doing. \"\u003ci\u003eThe Tangled Tree \u003c\/i\u003eis a source of wonder....Quammen has written a deep and daring intellectual adventure\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e).","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51379065389279,"sku":"9781476776637","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/40jA99PymR9781476776637.webp?v=1789268472"},{"product_id":"ebola-the-natural-and-human-history-of-a-deadly-virus-paperback","title":"Ebola: The Natural and Human History of a Deadly Virus - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1976 a deadly virus emerged from the Congo forest. As swiftly as it came, it disappeared, leaving no trace. Over the four decades since, Ebola has emerged sporadically, each time to devastating effect. It can kill up to 90 percent of its victims. In between these outbreaks, it is untraceable, hiding deep in the jungle. The search is on to find Ebola's elusive host animal. And until we find it, Ebola will continue to strike. Acclaimed science writer and explorer David Quammen first came near the virus while he was traveling in the jungles of Gabon, accompanied by local men whose village had been devastated by a recent outbreak. Here he tells the story of Ebola--its past, present, and its unknowable future.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExtracted from \u003cem\u003eSpillover\u003c\/em\u003e by David Quammen, updated and with additional material.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51379095634143,"sku":"9780393351552","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/tT4E2g34qf9780393351552.webp?v=1789268552"},{"product_id":"breathless-the-scientific-race-to-defeat-a-deadly-virus-paperback","title":"Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNational Book Award finalist \u003ci\u003eBreathless \u003c\/i\u003etells the story of the worldwide scientific race to decipher the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, trace its source, and make possible the vaccines to fight the Covid-19 pandemic--\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ea \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"l\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003euminous, passionate account of the defining crisis of our time\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eBreathless\u003c\/i\u003e is a \"gripping\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e) but \"clear-eyed analysis\" (\u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e) of SARs-CoV-2 and its fierce journey through the human population, as seen by the scientists who study its origin, its ever-changing nature, and its capacity to kill us. David Quammen expertly shows how strange new viruses emerge from animals into humans as we disrupt wild ecosystems and how those viruses adapt to their human hosts, sometimes causing global catastrophe. He explains why this coronavirus will probably be a \"forever virus,\" destined to circulate among humans and bedevil us endlessly, in one variant form or another. As scientists labor to catch it, comprehend it, and control it, with their high-tech tools and methods, the virus finds ways of escape. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBased on interviews with nearly one hundred scientists, including leading virologists in China and around the world, Quammen explains that: \u003cbr\u003e -Infectious disease experts saw this pandemic coming\u003cbr\u003e -Some scientists, for more than two decades, warned that \"the next big one\" would be caused by a changeable new virus--very possibly a coronavirus--but such warnings were ignored for political or economic reasons\u003cbr\u003e -The precise origins of this virus may not be known for years, but some clues are compelling, and some suppositions can be dismissed\u003cbr\u003e -And much more \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWritten by \"one of our finest explainers of the natural world for decades\" (\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e), This \"compelling and terrifying\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e) account is an unparalleled look inside the frantic international race to understand and control SARS-CoV-2--and what it might mean for the next potential global health crisis.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51379434193119,"sku":"9781982164379","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/XrPgFgeRPg9781982164379.webp?v=1789272503"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/david-quammen.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}