Carl Zimmer's Blog, page 2

BookTV talk about "She Has Her Mother's Laugh"

Here's the video of my BookTV talk about She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity, recorded at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

The Illusions of Genealogy

The Globe & Mail is running an excerpt of She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity today. It's on the powerful attraction of genealogy, and the illusions that it creates both about our ancestors and ourselves. You can read it here.

New York Times calls She Has Her Mother's Laugh "extraordinary" (plus more news)

It's been an exciting first week since She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity came out. Here are a few thing that happened--

--An incredibly gratifying review ran in the Sunday Times Book Review, calling She Has Her Mother's Laugh "extraordinary."

--I talked about the possible science-fiction futures of heredity on WBUR's Radio Boston.

--Amazon put She Has Her Mother's Laugh on its "Best of the Month" list.

--The Daily Beast published the prologue of She Has Her Mother's Laugh

--I talked to Jonathan Capehart about heredity on WNYC New York's Midday.

--My publisher, Dutton, put a few minutes of the audiobook version on Soundcloud.

--I answered some questions on Reddit.

--Stat published an excerpt from the book, in which I write about how microbes can be inherited much like genes, and how our life depends on this microbial inheritance.

--I was interviewed by Cara Santa Maria for her podcast "Talk Nerdy To Me."

--Rose Eveleth talked to me for her podcast "Flash Forward."

More to come!

Early reviews of "She Has Her Mother's Laugh"

This Tuesday, She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity arrives at last in bookstores. This past week, both Nature and Science published reviews. Check them out--

Nature : “A beguiling narrative…In She Has Her Mother’s Laugh, Zimmer has built a subtle, multifaceted and deep understanding of heredity, grounded in revelatory insights from genome sequencing. And he shows that we will need it to face our uncertain future.”

Science : “Zimmer is one of the best science journalists of our times, with a long history of setting the bar for beautiful, clear, and scholarly writing. He is true to form in this book…She Has Her Mother’s Laugh is more than a historical account of the field of genetics. It’s a treasure trove of curious facts, contextual tidbits, and up-to-date reports on the trials and tribulations of heredity told in a most entertaining way.”

Two-book giveaway!

I'm holding another book giveaway. I’ll be picking 10 readers of my email newsletter to get a two-book pack: my latest book, She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity plus The Descent of Man: The Concise Edition which I edited and wrote essays for. Sign up by May 14, and you’ll be eligible.

One month to go!

Yikes! Just *one* month left before She Has Her Mother’s Laugh comes out! Pre-ordering is a big help to authors these days, so if you are interested in heredity, please consider getting an early start.

Starred review from Booklist for "She Has Her Mother's Laugh"

She Has Her Mother’s Laugh just got its third starred review, this time from Booklist. They call it "a wide-ranging and eye-opening inquiry into the way heredity shapes our species.” Please consider pre-ordering it--it makes a big difference for us authors!

Book post #2: Being Mortal

Here's a piece I wrote about Atul Gawande's book "Being Mortal," focusing on the architecture of good nonfiction writing. And the importance of cats as reading companions.

Quick book takes...first up, Stalin and the Scientists

Over on my Facebook author page, I'm starting a series of posts on books I like. First up is "Stalin and the Scientists," by Simon Ings. Check it out!

Goodreads Giveaway of "She Has Her Mother's Laugh"

Goodreads is giving away 20 copies of "She Has Her Mother's Laugh." Details here (US only).