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Henry Gee - Four Way Interview

Henry Gee was born in London in 1962. He was educated at the universities of Leeds and Cambridge and has been an editor at the science journal Nature since 1987. As well as his latest title A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, his books include The Accidental Species: Misunderstandings of Human Evolution; The Science of Middle-earth; Jacob’s Ladder: The History of the Human Genome, and Deep Time: Cladistics, the Revolution in Evolution. He has also written science fiction (The Sigil trilogy) and mystery (By The Sea). Sharp-eyed viewers will recognise him as the bloke sat next to the Rev Richard Coles on the 2019 Christmas series of University Challenge where, with other alumni of the University of Leeds, he won the series championship. He lives in Cromer, Norfolk, England, with his family and numerous pets.

Why science?

Most children go through a phase during which they know the names of at least ten dinosaurs before they are potty trained. I never really grew out of it (the dinosaur phase, that is, not the potty training). I’ve always been interested in the roots of things - how things got to be the way they are - and the infant Gee could be found in museums, usually the most obscure corners. Insatiable curiosity perhaps inevitably meant that this early fondness for museums became combined with journalism and writing, and directed me to Nature, where I have been a writer and editor for nearly 34 years. It’s the best job in the world. And, to be frank, nobody else would have me.

Why this book?

In the back of my mind for years I’ve had the idea to write the story of life on Earth, but the thought didn’t advance any further forward in my mind until a colleague at Nature, David Adam (The Man Who Couldn’t Stop; The Genius Within) suggested I write a book celebrating all the amazing fossil discoveries, news of which has passed across my desk at Nature. After all, as an editor there, and chief bone-botherer, I am in part responsible for the world knowing about such things as feathered dinosaurs; the ‘fishapod’ Tiktaalik, and Homo floresiensis, the incredible hobbit creature from Indonesia. 

What’s next?

After each book I swear I’ll never write another book. 

What’s exciting you at the moment?

Extinction - how it happens, what it means, and the fate of our own species. If I am going to write about human extinction, I should probably start now.

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