THE RE-ORIGIN OF SPECIES – A SECOND CHANCE FOR EXTINCT ANIMALS
By Torill Kornfeldt
A Daily Telegraph Book of the Year
WHAT DOES A mammoth smell like? Do dinosaurs bob their heads as they walk, like today’s birds? Do aurochs moo like cows? You may soon find out.
FROM THE SIBERIAN permafrost to balmy California, scientists across the globe are working to resurrect all kinds of extinct animals, from ones that just left us to those that have been gone for many thousands of years. Their tools in this hunt are both fossils and cutting-edge genetic technologies. Some of these scientists are driven by sheer curiosity; others view the lost species as a powerful weapon in the fight to save rapidly disappearing ecosystems.
SCIENCE JOURNALIST TORILL Kornfeldt travelled the world to meet the men and women working to bring extinct animals back from the dead. Along the way, she saw a mammoth that had been frozen for 20,000 years, and visited the places where these furry giants once walked. It seems certain that they and other lost species will walk the earth again, but what world will that give us? And is any of this a good idea?
ABOUT THE BOOK
First published by Natur och Kultur, Sweden, 2020
RIGHTS SOLD
Chinese(simplified), Thinkingdom Media Group
Czechia, Barrister & Principal
Finland, Minerva
Germany, WBG
Japan, A&F Corporation
Netherlands, De Geus
Sweden, Fri tanke
Turkey, Alfa Basim
UK (World English), Scribe
REVIEWS
‘[T]his excellent book, written with a deceptively light touch […] raises a number of deep questions and paradoxes about our relationship with nature.’
–The Guardian
‘It’s a beautifully written and perceptive book that also poses sharp questions about environmental nostalgia and the true value of species.’
–‘Best Books of The Year’, The Daily Telegraph
‘Kornfeldt does an excellent job of exposing the ethical dilemmas of bringing extinct creatures back to life.’
– The Mail on Sunday
‘The Re-Origin of Species is an engrossing exploration of a controversial area, written with a light touch and a journalist’s eye for detail.’
– Irish Examiner
‘The author’s careful synthesis of accomplishment versus aspiration is also spot-on―even world-class scientists will be dreamers, and there is much more research to be conducted before mammoths once again lumber across the tundra. Wondrous tales of futuristic science experiments that happen to be true.’
– Kirkus Reviews
‘Extinction might not be forever! […] Kornfeldt’s book is an eye-opening introduction to an important new field of study.’
– Booklist
‘Pick up this book and you’ll be glued to its pages, and soon convinced that bioengineering will continue to change the world in ways difficult to imagine.’
– Good Reading
‘[T]he projects Kornfeldt writes about are incredibly compelling, given that we are living through a mass-extinction event that threatens the stability of the world’s ecosystems.’
– The New Yorker
BOOKS
Non-Fiction
