Jo Marchant is a New York Times bestselling author and speaker. Her writing explores the nature of humanity and our universe, from the mind-body connection to the mysteries of past civilisations and the awesome power of the night sky.
COMING IN SEPTEMBER 2020…
THE HUMAN COSMOS
A journey through the history of science, and humanity’s relationship with the night sky and the cosmos beyond.
For most of human history we have led not just an earthly existence but a cosmic one. Our innate relationship with the stars shaped who we are – our religious beliefs, power structures, scientific advances and even our biology. But over the last few centuries we have separated ourselves from the universe that surrounds us. And that disconnect comes at a cost.
In The Human Cosmos, Jo Marchant takes us on a tour through the history of humanity’s relationship with the heavens. We travel to the Hall of the Bulls in Lascaux and witness the summer solstice at a 5,000-year-old tomb at Newgrange. We visit Medieval monks grappling with the nature of time and Tahitian sailors navigating by the stars. We discover how light reveals the chemical composition of the sun, and we are with Einstein as he works out that space and time are one and the same. A four-billion-year-old meteor inspires a search for extra-terrestrial life. And we discover why star-gazing can be really, really good for us.
*** The Human Cosmos will be published in the US by Dutton and in the UK by Canongate. ***
SPEAKING
Jo Marchant appears regularly on TV and radio to discuss her books and articles. She has captivated live audiences around the globe, from the UK’s Royal Institution and Hay Festival to the World Science Festival in New York, the Dutch-Flemish Institute in Cairo and the Emirates Literature Festival in Dubai. For more on speaking and events, click here.
PREVIOUS BOOKS
Cure (2016)
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A New York Post Best Book of 2016
A New York Magazine Best Science Book of 2016
A Mindful.org Top 10 Mindful Book of 2016
A Spirituality & Health Mind/Body Book of 2016
A Sunday Times Book of the Year
An Economist Book of the Year
Finalist for the 2016 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Books Prize
Have you ever felt a surge of adrenaline after narrowly avoiding an accident? Salivated at the sight (or thought) of a sour lemon? Felt turned on just from hearing your partner’s voice? If so, then you’ve experienced how dramatically the workings of your mind can affect your body.
While we know mind and body are entwined, the idea of “healing” thoughts and beliefs is seen as flaky in the extreme. Recently, however, serious scientists from a range of fields have been uncovering evidence that the mind plays a crucial role in health. Our thoughts, emotions and beliefs, it seems, can ease pain, heal wounds, fend off infection and heart disease and even slow the progression of AIDS and some cancers.
So what is the potential of the mind to heal – and what are its limits? In Cure: A journey into the science of mind over body, I travelled the world to meet the physicians, patients and researchers on the cutting edge of this new world of medicine.
The Shadow King (2013)
From glamorous treasure hunts of the 1920s to high-tech scans and DNA tests in volatile modern Egypt, The Shadow King follows archaeologists, scientists and politicians on the trail of King Tutankamun, unraveling the truth behind hyped-up TV documentaries and discovering what science really tells us about one of history’s most enigmatic rulers.
“A rip-roaring story” Nature
“Luminous and illuminating” The Guardian
“A thrilling account… shows our human failings, most notably greed and pride” Literary Review
Decoding the Heavens (2008)
Sunken treasure. A mysterious artefact. Scrambled inscriptions. Warring academic egos. Technology 1,000 years before its time. The tale sounds like pulp fiction, but it is all true. Decoding the Heavens tells the story of the Antikythera mechanism, a sophisticated astronomical computer and arguably the most impressive object that survives from the ancient world.
“Sprinkled with the magic dust of an Indiana Jones adventure.” New Scientist
“An epic of forgotten geniuses, lost treasure, death-defying underwater exploration and egomaniacal scientists.” LA Times
“A dizzyingly brilliant thing… bears a chilling message for our technological age.” The Telegraph