Promotional Information

/ Key title 'Dry Store Room No. 1' is an intimate biography of the Natural History Museum, celebrating the eccentric personalities who have peopled it and capturing the wonders of scientific endeavour, academic rigour and imagination. / Richard Fortey is our star popular science author. He combines rigorous professional science with great literary skill / Fortey's previous books have enjoyed worldwide recognition and have been published in several languages. / Both 'The Earth' and 'Life' were shortlisted for the Aventis (Rhone-Poulenc) Prize for Science and 'Trilobite!' was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. / Devoted fans of Fortey's writing include Bill Bryson and Simon Winchester. / Fortey's last book 'The Earth' was a Sunday Times bestseller and has sold over 30,000 copies in the UK alone. It was chosen as a Book of the Year in the Sunday Telegraph and the Economist. / Competition: Matt Ridley, Richard Dawkins, Steve Jones

About the Author

Richard Fortey retired from his position as senior palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum in 2006. He is a well known TV presenter of nature series and the author of several bestselling books, including Fossils: A Key to the Past, The Hidden Landscape which won The Natural World Book of the Year in 1993, Life: An Unauthorised Biography, Trilobite!, The Earth: An Intimate History, Survivors and The Wood for the Trees. He has been elected to be President of the Geological Society of London for its bicentennial year of 2007, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Reviews

Praise for Richard Fortey's 'The Earth': 'Richard Fortey is without peer among science writers.' Bill Bryson '"The Earth" is a true delight: full of awe-inspiring details!it blends travel, history, reportage and science to create an unforgettable picture of our ancient earth.' Sunday Times Praise for 'The Earth': 'This is not a book for people who like science books. It is a book for people who love books, and life!Fortey has written a wonderful book.' Tim Radford, Guardian 'Read this book because it is, indeed, the best natural history of the first four billion years of life on earth.' John Gribbin, Sunday Times 'Fortey writes beautifully and this is a wonderful biography of rock and life!He has restored palaeontology to its rightful place in the pantheon.' Lewis Wolpert, Observer 'The tale of life needs constant retelling. Thank some happy accident of history that we have Fortey to tell it to us anew.' Ted Nield, New Scientist

Entering a museum, especially a natural history museum, the museum visitor's focus is on the exhibits he or she is interested in that day, perhaps birds or minerals or plants, or the latest blockbuster show. How often does the visitor think of the people who created these collections, whether they are working today, where this bird, rock, or dinosaur came from, if there are more pieces stored away, and exactly what is going on behind those doors closed to the public? Fortey, a former senior paleontologist at London's Natural History Museum and author of Life, Trilobite, and Earth, spent decades working at this famous place and has the greatest respect and fondness for his institution, its history, its collections, and, most of all, his present and past colleagues. Barely dipping into the wealth of personalities and the collections, Fortey instead takes readers behind closed doors to reveal how a museum runs, how collections are built, and how scientists work. He also traces the London museum's history and the present status of scientific discovery and contributions there. He does this with wit and humor, writing in a wonderfully clear style. Readers will never enter a museum again without wanting someone like Fortey to take them behind the scenes. Highly recommended for all collections and required for natural history and history of science collections.--Michael D. Cramer, Schwarz BioSciences, RTP, Raleigh, NC Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.