Science writer Carl Zimmer to discuss new book June 14
The Lewes Public Library’s Science and Society lecture series will welcome renowned science writer Carl Zimmer for an online discussion of his new book “Life’s Edge: The Search for What it Means to Be Alive” at 5 p.m., Monday, June 14. The event is co-sponsored by Browseabout Books.
In “Life’s Edge,” Zimmer investigates one of the biggest questions of all: What is life? The answer is not as obvious as one might think. Is the apple sitting on the kitchen counter alive, or is only the apple tree it came from deserving of the word? It is a question that hangs over some of society’s most charged conflicts – whether a fertilized human egg is a living person, for example, and when is the right time to declare a person legally dead.
In this investigation, Zimmer handles pythons, goes spelunking to visit hibernating bats, and even tries his own hand at evolving life in a test tube. He ventures into the labs and minds of researchers working on engineering life from the ground up and follows a voyage that delivered microscopic animals to the moon. From the coronavirus to consciousness, Zimmer demonstrates that biology, for all its advances, has yet to achieve its greatest triumph: a full theory of life.
Zimmer is the author of 14 books and one of the most celebrated science writers in the world. He writes the science column for The New York Times and has frequently contributed to The Atlantic, National Geographic, Time, and Scientific American. He has earned awards from the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Society for the Study of Evolution.
The event is part of the Lewes Public Library’s Science and Society lecture series; registration is required at lewes.lib.de.us. The conversation will be moderated by Colin Norman, former news editor at Science, and Fred Dylla, executive director emeritus of the American Institute of Physics and author of “Scientific Journeys.”
Participants are encouraged to support the author by purchasing a copy of the book from local independent bookstore Browseabout Books. Each copy purchased comes with an archival bookplate signed by the author. Orders may be placed online at browseaboutbooks.com, in person at 133 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach, or by calling the store at 302-226-2665.
The Lewes Public Library anticipates the needs of the community, and adapts, creates and supports classes and programs for all ages that encourage a love of reading, exploration and discovery. It provides access for a wide variety of educational, informational and recreational materials to all members of the community through traditional resources and emerging technologies. For more information, visit lewes.lib.de.us.
