Talk of the Town

Monster of God

Tue. Nov.4th, 7:30-9 pm

With: David Quammen, author of Monster of God, The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind.

Generously supported by the David Suzuki Foundation

David Quammen is a gifted science writer who combines a deep appreciation and understanding of science, with a true gift for storytelling. His material is gathered from scientific journals, historical documents, and scholarly texts, but most importantly, from the field where he makes first-hand observations and plumbs the experience of researchers and the people who live in close connection with the natural world. He will bring his observations, stories and insights to Talk of the Town.

This is a description of his latest book, Monster of God from his publisher’s web site:

“Casting his expert eye over the rapidly diminishing areas of wilderness where predators still reign, the award-winning author of Song of the Dodo examines the fate of lions in India's Gir forest, of saltwater crocodiles in northern Australia, of brown bears in the mountains of Romania, and of Siberian tigers in the Russian Far East. In the poignant and troublesome ferocity of these embattled creatures, we recognize something primeval deep within us, something in danger of vanishing forever.”

http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/spring03/005140.htm

The discussion will take place at UBC’s Robson Square campus. Attendance is free of charge, but please pre-register at info.talkofthetown@ubc.ca or phone 604-822-1700.

Monster of God

“A lesser writer might have turned this book into a shrill polemic, yet another tirade against modernity and extinction (subjects the scholarly Quammen tackled in his previous effort, Song of the Dodo). But he proves to be a fine reporter: insatiably curious, level-headed and amazingly erudite, calling in air support from a vast array of sources, living and dead.”

Bill Gifford, The Washington Post

Song of the Dodo

“This is a book of physical adventure -- travels in exotic and even dangerous places to see extraordinary creatures. It is also a book of intellectual adventure, in which the excitement of new understanding builds over 600 pages until at last the baton is passed to the reader. This is only fitting because the last sentence will leave more than a few readers on their feet, punching the air with a fist and saying ‘Yes!’ ”

John P. Wiley Jr., Smithsonian Magazine

About The Author

DAVID QUAMMEN is a renowned science and nature writer who was educated at Yale and Oxford University. He is a two-time National Magazine Award winner for his science essays and columns in Outside magazine. In addition to his columns in Outside, essays, nonfiction, and fiction, he has also published in National Geographic Magazine, Harper's, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times Book Review. He has also received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Lannan Literary Award for nonfiction. His award-winning nonfiction book, Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions (1996) is a wonderful compendium of the history of evolutionary theory, biodiversity, population dynamics, and extinction.

Bibliography

• The Boilerplate Rhino: Nature in the Eye of the Beholder, Scribner, 2000
• Wild Thoughts from Wild Places, Scribner, 1999
• The Flight of the Iguana:A Sidelong View of Science and Nature, Scribner, 1998
• Song of the Dodo:Island Bio-Geography in an Age of Extinctions, Scribner, 1996
• Best American Science and Nature Writing 2000, ed., Houghton and Mifflin, 2000

Links & Readings

Links

Monster of God: Reviews

There are reviews of Monster of God from The Globe & Mail, New York Times and Scientific American among other publications.

Review of Monster of God

This review appears in the Fall 2003 edition of OnEarth, published by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Review of Boilerplate Rhino

This review was written by Jane Van Der Voort and published in the Toronto Sun, June 2000.

Review of Song of the Dodo

This is John P. Wiley’s full review of Song of the Dodo from the Smithsonian Magazine.