Christopher J. Preston
AUTHOR

Christopher J. Preston

Science & Engineering
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Christopher James Preston is an award-winning writer based in Missoula, MT. Author of four books, his work has appeared in The Atlantic, Discover Magazine, Smithsonian, Aeon, and the BBC. He is a native of England but has lived the last three decades in the U.S. where he is energized by the wildlife and the large landscapes. In addition to writing, he is a college professor and has spent time as a commercial fisherman, a tool librarian, and a backcountry Park Service Ranger. His first book, Grounding Knowledge, was a philosophical exploration of the power of place. Saving Creation, his second, was a biography of Holmes Rolston III, the "father of environmental ethics." In 2018, he wrote the award-winning Synthetic Age: Outdesigning Evolution, Resurrecting Species, and Reengineering Our World. The book catalogs how powerful emerging technologies are actively replacing nature with an artificial world. It has been translated into six languages Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries that Change How We Think About Animals (coming February 2023) is his most eye-catching work yet. In the midst of the sixth extinction, he travels to several countries and finds a dozen recovering species that are bucking the larger trend. He explores recovery sites where he interviews scientists, wildlife advocates, and native people. He finds hope in returning bison, wolves, humpback whales, Marsican bears, sea otters, and more. With each species, he also uncovers an important lesson about how to share the landscape with a returning animal. In the academic arena, Preston has published extensively on climate engineering, synthetic biology, wilderness, and the new epoch of the Anthropocene. He is a recognized expert on the ethics of solar radiation management and on the use of biotechnology for conservation. To recharge his batteries, he is a mountain biker and a skier.
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