-
Get a Free Issue
of our Ezine!
Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Read-Alikes
Virginia Morell is a prolific contributor to National Geographic, Science, and Smithsonian, among other publications. She is also the author of Ancestral Passions, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; Blue Nile; and coauthor with Richard Leakey of Wildlife Wars.
This bio was last updated on 06/01/2017. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.
Why did you become a science writer?
As a child, I loved reading and spending time in nature. My parents were great outdoor enthusiasts, and as a family we spent weekends and every summer vacation camping, hiking and
exploring the mountains and deserts of the western states. I was soon a devoted reader of field guides, learning all I could about wildlife, plants, and geology. I loved reading because I could
imagine myself as the characters in my books and being carried away by the words into their lives. I loved watching birds and animals for much the same reason. Who were they? How did
they live their lives? I wrote short, imaginary tales about their lives. While these were fictional tales, they were my first efforts to explain the things in the world that I thought and cared about.
I actually did not set out to become a science writer; as a child I didn't realize there was such a career. I only discovered it in college, a sudden illumination: here was a way to combine all that
I loved–reading, exploring the wild, meeting unusual, eccentric characters (human and animal), and sharing all of this through my writing.
What authors have influenced you both as a reader and a science writer?
I've been deeply ...
Poet, essayist, and naturalist, Diane Ackerman is the author of many highly acclaimed works of nonfiction, including A Natural History of the Senses -- a book beloved by readers all over the world and the volumes Deep Play, A... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Animal Wise
Try:
The Human Age
by Diane Ackerman
Simon Barnes was born in Bristol in 1951. He is the multi-award-winning chief sportswriter for The Times (London). He is also a nature writer, horseman, and the author of a dozen books, including the bestselling How to Be a ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Animal Wise
Try:
Ten Million Aliens
by Simon Barnes
We recommend 13 similar authors
The Bog Wife
by Kay Chronister
Five West Virginia siblings unearth secrets after the rupture of a supernatural bargain tying their fate to their land.
In the Garden of Monsters
by Crystal King
A woman with no past, a man who knows her, and a monstrous garden that separates their worlds.
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
Jesmyn Ward imagines the life of an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War in this instant classic.
.png)
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
