Jonathan Weiner (born November 26, 1953) is an American writer of nonfiction books based on his biological observations, focusing particularly on

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

in the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

, genetics, and the environment. His latest book is ''Long for This World: The Strange Science of Immortality'' (Ecco Press, July 2010) a look at the scientific search for the Fountain of Youth. He won the 1995

Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction The Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are awarded annually for the "Letters, Drama, and Music" category. The award is given to a nonfiction book written by an American author and published du ...

and the 1994

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize currently has nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), his ...

for Science for his book '' The Beak of the Finch''. In 1999 he won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was shortlisted for the Aventis Prize in 2000 for his book ''Time, Love, Memory'' about

Seymour Benzer Seymour Benzer (October 15, 1921 – November 30, 2007) was an American physicist, molecular biologist and behavioral geneticist. His career began during the molecular biology revolution of the 1950s, and he eventually rose to prominence in the ...

Biography

Weiner was born November 26, 1953, to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the son of Ponnie (née Mensch) and Jerome Harris Weiner, an engineer and mathematician.Jonathan Weiner Weds Deborah A. Heiligman
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', May 30, 1982. Retrieved November 24, 2013 In 1976, he graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Weiner is the Maxwell M. Geffen Professor of Medical and Scientific Journalism at

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...

, where he teaches writing about science and medicine. He has taught at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

and

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

Personal life

In 1982, he married Deborah Heiligman in a

ceremony in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

. Heligman is a children's writer whose focus is also nonfiction. They live in New York City with their two sons, Aaron and Benjamin. Deborah Heiligman's book about

Emma Darwin Emma Darwin (; 2 May 1808 – 2 October 1896) was an English woman who was the wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin. They were married on 29 January 1839 and were the parents of ten children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. Early lif ...

and her relationship with Charles, ''Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith'' (Henry Holt, January 2009)—"for Middle Readers and Young Adults"—won the inaugural YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults from the American young-adult librarians, as the year's best nonfiction book. It was the runner-up among all young-adult books based on literary merit (

Printz Award The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by ''Booklist'' magazine; administered by the ALA's ...

), as well as for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

Selected works

* ''Planet Earth'' (1986), the companion book to the 1986

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

series of the same name. * ''The Next One Hundred Years: Shaping the Fate of Our Living Earth'' (1990) , * '' The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time'' (1994) , * '' Time, Love, Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior'' (1999)
2014 ebook
* ''His Brother's Keeper: A Story from the Edge of Medicine'' (2004) * ''Long for this World: The Strange Science of Immortality'' (2010) ,

References

External links

*
Long for this World

"About Me" at Deborah Heiligman: Author
the official website of Weiner's wife * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weiner, Jonathan 1953 births Living people Arizona State University faculty American male non-fiction writers American science writers Jewish American non-fiction writers Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction winners Columbia University faculty Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism faculty Harvard University alumni 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American Jews