David Quammen


David Quammen is an American science, nature and travel writer and the author of fifteen books. He wrote a column called "Natural Acts" for Outside magazine for fifteen years. His articles have also appeared in National Geographic, Harper's, Rolling Stone, the New York Times Book Review and other periodicals. In 2013, Quammen's book Spillover was shortlisted for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award.

Early life and education

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Quammen graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1966. He is a Yale graduate and former Rhodes Scholar; during his graduate studies at Oxford, he studied literature, concentrating on the works of William Faulkner.

Career

Quammen was drawn to the state of Montana in the early 1970s for the trout fishing. He still lives in Montana, while traveling widely for National Geographic and to research his books. During autumn 2014, he was much involved, because of books and articles he has published, in the public discussion of the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa and its spread beyond.
From 2007 to 2009 he was the Wallace Stegner Professor of Western American Studies at Montana State University.

Non-Fiction