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November 8 The
Journal of Heredity has published a technical
but surprisingly touching review of the book. November 5 Better late than never, here's a video recording of my talk at UCLA's Institute for Society and Genetics last spring:
September 7 Discover magazine's
latest issue
features an article by me on the aging of the
world's population. The backdrop for the story is
the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona. July 15 Dr. Harry Ostrer, a major
figure in my book, has written a fine book of his
own. It's called
Legacy: A Genetic History of the Jewish People.
Harry's book and mine are reviewed together in the
new issue of
Moment magazine. July 6 My sales are becalmed. But
As It Is On Earth, the debut novel by my brother
Peter Matthiessen Wheelwright, is about to take off.
April 9 Tablet, "a daily online
magazine of Jewish news, ideas, and culture," has
posted an interview with me by Sara Ivry. Listen to
the
Vox Tablet podcast here. April 1 At a book-signing at St. Stephen's Church in San Luis Obispo, I sold 41 copies. True, I was among friends. We also honored the late Dale Owen, who would have been 100 years old today. My book is dedicated to Dale, an artist who mastered many forms. Below is the stained-glass window that he did for St. Peter's Church in San Pedro, CA. The book tries to fragment and meld subjects the way that Dale broke up and fused colors.
March 29 The local press weighs in. Read the rousing notice in the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
Previously on the blog I wrote
about a genetics conference that I attended in
Herzliya, Israel. Now the website for the Atlantic
has cleaned up my report and
posted it here. I sense that Jewish readers are
beginning to discover my book. To that end my
publisher and I have decided to put me up for the
Jewish Book Council's 2012
Network Author Tours. Look for me to appear at a
synagogue or JCC near you this fall. March 6 The freewheeling folks at KGNU radio in Denver-Boulder are offering my book as a premium during their spring pledge drive. I was interviewed by the station's How On Earth science show. Click here to listen, starting about five minutes into the podcast.
While praising the book, some
of the critics have been bothered by its structure.
They notice it's not linear. My chapters are not
seamless. Now a senior editor for the Atlantic puts
a nice spin on the matter. See her
wide-ranging interview with me here. February 22 My appearance in Denver lifted
the book to the #4 spot on the list of
local best sellers. And though I bragged about
escaping speed traps during my road trip, a camera
in Star Chamber — er, Star Valley — Arizona
has begged to differ. February 20 A nature photographer named Jane Isaacs sent an e-mail with nice comments about the book. However, she notes that in the last chapter, as I climb the Culebra Range with Shonnie's father, I refer to a pika as a rodent. It's actually a member of the rabbit family. Check out Jane's artful composite of pikas and mountain columbine:
February 18 Change of pace: The March issue of Discover magazine has my article about the Asian carp that are invading Midwestern waterways. Click here to read.
Here's a fact-filled review by Charles Mann in the weekend Wall Street Journal. Here's a picture I took of Mount Blanca last week as I left Culebra. Shonnie is in the mountain.
An article was published in the Denver Post today in connection with my book tour. A good review has appeared in the Seattle Times. By the time I get home I will have driven 3,000 miles, dodging a blizzard and speed traps, while absorbing gobs of Western scenery. Now the book travels on its own power.
OMG, 165 people came to my reading at the NM History Museum in Santa Fe yesterday. The books on hand all sold out. Tonight I visited with Shonnie's family at a reading in Alamosa. Gorgeous Mount Blanca is streaked with snow. Denver is next.
A radio host in Santa Fe quizzed me today. Click here to listen to the podcast.
The reviewer for Barnes & Noble has weighed in. She's read the book closely and likes it a lot.
I'm about to hit the road. The book is in stores. Has the zeitgeist changed? Two good if rather slapdash reviews have appeared online. You can read them here and here.
Just received word of a
really
nice notice in Booklist. And a
recommendation by Scientific American. 2011 December 15 Last summer I attended a genetics conference in Herzliya, Israel. The question of Jewish identity was a major theme of the meeting. How much was cultural and how much was biological? This issue for Jews is not new, but it has new urgency because of recognizably Jewish markers in the DNA. The discussion at times was heated. Here's the link to my report.
The official publication date for the book is January 16. A week later I take off on a book tour of the Southwest. You may attend a reading and have your book signed at the following locations. Check local websites for starting times. I'll be listed soon if I'm not already.
Discover magazine has published an excerpt from the book in its December issue. Text is drawn from several chapters. Click here to read the piece (1.3MB PDF file).
Publishers Weekly has posted the first review of the book. It's a good one. Click here to read. Another good review, from Kirkus, will appear shortly. Click here for a peek.
JTA, the international news service for Jewish issues, has a story about the detection of Jewish markers in the DNA of Hispanic Americans. My book gets its first pre-publication mention.
My wife and I have returned from nine days in Israel and Jerusalem. For most of our stay in the Holy Land we were tourists. I have made a picture journal of the trip, which you can read at the following links:
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