Australia's Black Saturday--a fire so
devastating that even the science of wildfire is being reexamined, at The New Yorker. Plus an online Q&A and some citizen-video.
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October 19, 2009
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BOOK
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, The First Word is about the quest for the origins of human language. Although language is a distinctly human gift, it leaves no permanent trace and its evolution has long been a mystery. It is only in the last fifteen years that we have begun to understand how language came into being. The First Word follows two intertwined narratives. The first is an account of how the random and layered processes of evolution wound together to produce a talking animal: us. The second addresses why language evolution was considered a scientific taboo for more than a hundred years and why scientists are at last able to explore the subject.- Amazon.com
- Amazon.co.uk
- Powell's
- Barnes & Noble
- Kindle
Penguin 75
The cover of The First Word is featured in "Penguin 75."
REVIEWS
- from THE JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
"The task she has undertaken... is formidable. Kenneally does it very well." - from NEUROLOGY TODAY
"In addition to its astonishing breadth, this book is up to date, educational, and entertaining." - from AMERICAN SCIENTIST
"...a lucid, readable, comprehensive account." - from THE FINANCIAL TIMES
"[An] admirably serious update on the [language evolution] debate." - from THE NEW YORKER
"[An] accessible account... including many provocative findings." - from THE BOSTON GLOBE
"Kenneally's reporting and interpretation of this research, whose implications for the study of language and human nature are immense, occupy center stage in 'The First Word' and generate real excitement on the page." - from THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
"...a cogent and often compelling account... As Kenneally dissects each scholar's theory, a wonderful evolution occurs on the pages: She explains, understatedly, what it means to be part of human nature." - from SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
"...an elegant exposition." - from THE NEW YORK TIMES
[A] lucid survey of this expanding field... covers an enormous expanse of ground as she brings the reader up to date on developments in a wide variety of disciplines touching on language evolution... explains difficult ideas concisely and clearly... scrupulously fair-minded... zeroes in on a host of fascinating experiments. - from THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
"[The] scientists who study the origins of language are a passionate, fractious bunch, and you don’t have to be an egghead to be tantalized by the questions that drive their research: how and when did we learn to speak, and to what extent is language a uniquely human attribute?... Much of what [Kenneally] describes is fascinating."
Book list picks
- The Plain Dealer
Summer's bliss: Our picks for reading that will carry you away, July 2008 - Los Angeles Times
Nominated in the Science and Technology category of the Los Angeles Times Books Prize, February 28, 2007 - USA Today
2007's Best SCI-TECH Reads, Angela Gunn - Newsday
2007 in books: Best reads of the year - The Edge
Third Culture Holiday Reading, 2007 - Science News
A new and notable book of scientific interest, September 15, 2007 - New York Times Book Review
An Editors' Choice column pick, August 19, 2007 - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A Staying In column 'Read This' pick, Saturday August 11 - selected by the Reader's Subscription Book Club
- selected by the History Book Club
Advance praise
- Steven Pinker
"A clear and splendidly written account of a new field of research on a central question about the human species." - Steven Johnson
"'The First Word' is a rare and delightful mix: both a probing exploration of one of the great remaining mysteries of life, and a riveting story of the battles and breakthroughs that drive scientific progress."
CHRISTINE KENNEALLY
- Christine Kenneally is an award-winning journalist and author who has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Slate, Time, New Scientist, The Monthly, and other publications. Her book, The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language, is published by Penguin. Before becoming a reporter, she received a Ph.D. in linguistics from Cambridge University and a B.A. (Hons) in English and Linguistics from Melbourne University. She was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, and has lived in England, Iowa, and Brooklyn, New York (ckenneally at ckenneally dot com).
Best Australian Science Writing 2011
Best Australian Essays: A Ten Year Collection
Best Australian Essays 2010
RECENT JOURNALISM
- Epigenetics, Slate
Goodbye genetic blueprint - Speech Bubbles, The Monthly
Property bubbles and journalism - Lousy Science, The Monthly
The lice capital of the world - Archive This, The Monthly
Time
- Calling 911 in the 21st century
How can emergency services help you if they can't find you?
The Monthly
- Speech Bubbles
If a property bubble pops but no one reports it, will anyone know it has happened? - Lousy Science
The lice capital of the world. - Archive This
The epidemiology of versionitis - Here on Earth by Tim Flannery
Will White-rumped Vultures survive? What of humans, and even the Earth itself: Will we?
Slate
- Piano Lessons by Anna Goldsworthy
Philosophy and life and music digested - Spend Time in India. Rewire Your Brain
Learning Hindi can even make your face look different. - The Mystery of the Messy Notebooks
Why Agatha Christie's method was utterly deranged. - How Nice Are We?
What chimps can teach us about our mess of emotions. - I Cook, Therefore I Am
How dropping food in fire made us human. - Of Ants and Men
Compare the two civilizations, and who wins? - A Dolphin or a Lonely Transvestite?
How best to talk about English in English. - Thesaurus Unbound
If Roget's is becoming a relic, what lies ahead? - Watch Your Language
What our words reveal about our minds, but not about the world. - Fear and Loathing
A study shows that being risk-averse may shorten your life.
The New Yorker
- The Inferno
After the deadliest fires it has ever known, a nation reassesses - Australia Burning, News Desk interview
The aftermath of Black Saturday, the impact of global warming, and how to escape a fire that can destroy an entire town - Australia Burning, video
A drive through Hell. - The Deepest Cut
How can someone live with half a brain?
Bookforum
- The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley
It seems foolish, if not downright irresponsible to feel good about the future in 2010. The disasters of the last decade piled up fast, and apocalyptic fear is now a standard ingredient in the morning commute. But what should one prepare for first? September 11-style attacks, oil spills, climate change, the death of languages, the last days of the polar bears, or the dark, multifarious effects of globalization?
New Scientist
- Drawing the Map of Life by Victor McElheny
To an outsider, the Human Genome Project looks like a scientific Everest: people counting genes just because they are there. Now, 10 years since the first draft sequence was revealed, a widespread debate has arisen about its impact. - Through the Language Glass by Guy Deutscher
Was Homer's "wine-dark sea" incredibly poetic or just odd? - Language Lessons
What if the diversity of languages is the key to understanding human communication? - Adam's Tongue by Derek Bickerton & Finding Our Tongue by Dean Falk
Why is it that 20th-century physicists could ask some of the most grandiose questions in science, but if a researcher wondered aloud where language came from, the response was derisive at best. Not only can you not answer the question, they were told, you shouldn't even ask. - Freedom from selection lets genes get creative
We tend to think of evolution as a brutal race and behavioural complexity as a brilliant strategy that is honed by the competition. But what if biology doesn't always work that way? What if nature's most intricate creations were not painstakingly assembled but more casually dreamed up? - The World in Six Songs by Daniel J. Levitin
- Thousand Mile Song by David Rothenberg
- So you think humans are unique?
We are not the only species that feels emotions, empathises with others or abides by a moral code. Neither are we the only ones with personalities, cultures and the ability to design and use tools. Yet we have steadfastly clung to the notion that one attribute, at least, makes us unique... - Are Animals Musical?
Do all primates drum? Can fish pick a tune? Are birds merely winged automata making 'beep boop beep' sounds?
The New York Times
Washington Post
- Animals and Us, Not So Far Apart
The cognitive comeuppance for our species...
Other articles
Other articles can be found at The New York Times, Discover Magazine, The Boston Globe, The Huffington Post, Wired News, Salon and Scientific American.
© 2007 Christine Kenneally. All Rights Reserved.
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