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James Gleick

James Gleick (/ɡlɪk/;[1] born August 1, 1954) is an American author and historian of science whose work has chronicled the cultural impact of modern technology. Recognized for his writing about complex subjects through the techniques of narrative nonfiction, he has been called "one of the great science writers of all time".[2][3] He is part of the inspiration for Jurassic Park character Ian Malcolm.[4]

James Gleick

(1954-08-01) August 1, 1954
New York City

Writer

Chaos (1987)
Genius (1992)
The Information (2011)

Gleick's books include the international bestsellers Chaos: Making a New Science (1987) and The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood (2011).[5] Three of his books have been Pulitzer Prize[6][7][8] and National Book Award[9][10] finalists; and The Information was awarded the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award in 2012 and the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books 2012. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages.[11]

Work[edit]

Gleick's writing style has been described as a combination of "clear mind, magpie-styled research and explanatory verve."[22]


After the publication of Chaos, he collaborated with photographer Eliot Porter on Nature's Chaos and with developers at Autodesk on Chaos: The Software.


In 1989–90 he was the McGraw Distinguished Lecturer at Princeton University.


He was the first editor of The Best American Science Writing series.


His next books included two biographies, Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, and Isaac Newton, which John Banville said would "surely stand as the definitive study for a very long time to come."[23]


In 2017 Gleick was elected president of the Authors Guild.

James Gleick, "The Fate of Free Will" (review of , Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will, Princeton University Press, 2023, 333 pp.), The New York Review of Books, vol. LXXI, no. 1 (18 January 2024), pp. 27–28, 30. "Agency is what distinguishes us from machines. For biological creatures, reason and purpose come from acting in the world and experiencing the consequences. Artificial intelligences – disembodied, strangers to blood, sweat, and tears – have no occasion for that." (p. 30.)

Kevin J. Mitchell

with selections of his work.

James Gleick's website

author page in The New York Review of Books.

James Gleick

Christopher Lydon interview with James Gleick.

A Miracle Made Lyrical

James Gleick talks with Robert Birnbaum on Identity Theory (webzine).

The Narrative Thread

article on the culture of Wikipedia.

Leave Cyberspace, Meet in Egypt

with Janna Levin at the Key West Literary Seminar, 2008.

Audio: James Gleick in conversation

interview in the Boston Phoenix, April 6, 2011.

'Science writer James Gleick explains the physics that define new media in the ongoing communications revolution' by Peter Kadzis

on C-SPAN

Appearances

.

Time Travel

Gleick on Mastodon