Gibbons, Ann

PERSONAL:

Married; children: three. Education: Attended University of California at Berkeley.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Pittsburgh, PA. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Science, correspondent on human evolution; Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, science writing instructor.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Knight Science Journalism fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; science journalism fellow, Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory.

WRITINGS:

The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to Science, New York Times, Discover, and Insight.

SIDELIGHTS:

As a journalist specializing in human evolution, Ann Gibbons has traveled to remote Kenyan deserts for anthropological field work, to the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts to undertake genetic research, and to Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University as a science writing teacher. Over ten years of work for the peer-reviewed journal Science, as well as contributions to other national publications, culminated in the publication of Gibbons's first book, The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors. The volume provides a behind-the-scenes look into modern-day fossil hunting as four international teams seek to discover the fossils of the world's oldest human ancestor.

A Kirkus Reviews contributor described the book as "a deft account—part detective story, part adventure tale—of recent breakthroughs in the search for human origins," concluding that Gibbons offers "expert science reportage larded with an unexpected dose of intrigue." Walter Cressler wrote in Library Journal that the "captivating result is a near insider's account that still has the critical distance a nonpartisan can offer." Gilbert Taylor commented in a Booklist review: "Gibbons' successful debut marks her as a writer to watch. … The science is accessible and exciting." Entertainment Weekly reviewer Wook Kim described Gibbons as having "a real gift for explaining a somewhat dusty science."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2006, Gilbert Taylor, review of The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors, p. 10.

Entertainment Weekly, April 21, 2006, Wook Kim, review of The First Human, p. 79.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2006, review of The First Human, p. 169.

Library Journal, April 15, 2006, Walter Cressler, review of The First Human, p. 102.

ONLINE

Ann Gibbons Home Page,http://www.anngibbons.com (September 20, 2006).

Houston Chronicle Online,http://www.chron.com/ (May 5, 2006), Charles Matthews, "Fossil Turf Wars: Anthropologists Compete in the Human Race," review of The First Human.