The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life - Hardcover

David Quammen’s fifteen books include The Tangled Tree, The Song of the Dodo, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, and Spillover, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award. He has written for Harper’s, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Book Review, Outside, and Powder, among other magazines, and is a contributing writer for National Geographic. He wrote the entire text of the May 2016 issue of National Geographic on the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem—the first time in the history of the magazine that an issue was single-authored. Quammen shares a home in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife, Betsy Gaines Quammen, an environmental historian, along with two Russian wolfhounds and a cross-eyed cat. Visit him at DavidQuammen.com. 

“[Quammen] is our greatest living chronicler of the natural world. . . .There are vivacious descriptions on almost every page."   -- Parul Sehgal, The New York Times

“David Quammen’s diligently researched and deeply considered overview of what’s been going on recently in evolutionary biology is illuminating, wondrous, and gripping. Also scary when it comes to thinking about the evolution of Homo sapiens. This is stunning, first-rate journalism.” -- Barry Lopez, author of Arctic Dreams

“There's no one who writes about complex science better than David Quammen. The Tangled Tree is at once fascinating, illuminating, and totally absorbing.” -- Elizabeth Kolbert, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Sixth Extinction

“Quammen has written a deep and daring intellectual adventure. . . . The Tangled Tree is much more than a report on some cool new scientific facts. It is, rather, a source of wonder.” -- Thomas Levenson, The Boston Globe

"Utterly absorbing. . . . Changed the way I see life." -- Scott Simon, NPR

“David Quammen proves to be an immensely well-informed guide to a complex story. . . . Indeed he is, in my opinion, the best natural history writer currently working. Mr. Quammen’s books . . . consistently impress with their accuracy, energy and superb, evocative writing." -- David Barash, The Wall Street Journal

"In The Tangled Tree, celebrated science writer David Quammen tells perhaps the grandest tale in biology. . . . He presents the science — and the scientists involved — with patience, candour and flair." -- John Archibald, Nature

One of Science News’ Favorite Books of the Year

“[Quammen] writes like the director of a summer blockbuster: blasts of rich detail, quick cuts, not a second wasted.” -- Lois Beckett, The Guardian

"The Tangled Tree is a thrilling story of some of biology's most incredible discoveries, and a rich portrait of the fascinating people behind them. This is David Quammen at his best: funny, tenacious, lucid, charming, and relentlessly compelling."  -- Ed Yong, author of I Contain Multitudes