Good Reviews all around:
- Booklist has given The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2019, guest edited by Sy, a starred review in their October 1 issue, saying: “The works in this annual anthology are lyrical, emotional, moving, and insightful—proof that long-form science journalism boasts some of our best writers …. These pieces challenge us to look deeper and to understand better, to see the beating human heart in the soul of science.”
- The Washington Post praises The Magnificent Migration written for older children by the peerless wildlife writer Sy Montgomery.”
- Maria’s Bookshop in Durango, Colorado is celebrating its 35th year as a vibrant, thoughtful independent bookstore by listing their favorite books of the last 35 years. The Soul of an Octopus is on it, as well as many other excellent books. Check out the list.
Noble Dreams is a new podcast that charts “a world of exploration, invitation, conversation, nearly pure imagination, musication.” Sy enjoyed her talk with Noah Chute. Listen here.
Missed out on rats who peek-a-boo and roosters who cock-a-doodle-doo?
Missed out on rats who peek-a-boo and roosters who cock-a-doodle-doo? Here’s the link to Jim Braude and Margery Eagan’s midday talk show on WGBH radio last Wednesday. The Afternoon Zoo — that’s Sy of course — starts at 1:58:39
The thoughts of a fish. The Soul of an Octopus. Sy joined her friend Jonathan Balcombe, author of What A Fish Knows on WWDB’s radioshow, The Other Animals. Listen to a podcast of the show here.
Sy Montgomeryova returns to the Czech Republic. A new Czech translation of The Soul of an Octopus (above) will join the 2001 translation of Journey of the Pink Dolphins. The Czech title is Do Octopuses Have a Soul?
Earlier this year Sy had the great pleasure and challenge of selecting stories for The Best American Science and Writing 2019. In advance of its October publication, Publishers Weekly has given the anthology a good review:
Naturalist Montgomery (How to Be a Good Creature) emphasizes a sense of wide-eyed wonder in this enjoyable anthology. Included are topical pieces such as Linda Villarosa’s investigation into African-American infant mortality rates and Rebecca Mead’s report on a transgender woman undergoing facial surgery. But overall, this collection of 26 essays—from such publications as the Atlantic, Atlas Obscura, the New Yorker, and Pacific Standard—is less concerned with the hot-button issues, such as the rise of artificial intelligence, much discussed in contemporary science writing. There are stories about catching insects in Denmark, tracing hydrocarbon gasses at ancient oracle sites in and near Greece, and hunting down the elusive forms of life in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Often the writing strikes a personal, emotional note: Conor Gearin muses about his upcoming marriage while walking in Iowa’s Hitchcock Nature Center, and Molly Osberg tells of her near-fatal experience with a rare form of strep. Endangered animals (vaquita porpoises in the Gulf of California, right whales in Cape Cod Bay, and rhinos in Cincinnati Zoo) also claim much of the contributors’ attehttp://bit.ly/cw_MagMigrationntion. Readers in need of some substantive escapism will appreciate this offering of the previous year’s finest science and nature writing.
Sy enjoyed talking about The Magnificent Migration with BYU radio. Listen here.