Michael Sims (born February 17, 1958, in Crossville, TN) is an American

nonfiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...

writer. His books include ''Darwin's Orchestra'' (1997), ''Adam's Navel'' (2003), ''Apollo's Fire'' (2007), ''In the Womb: Animals'' (2009), and ''The Story of Charlotte's Web'' (2011). He is also an

anthologist In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...

, and has edited of several volumes of

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

and

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

fiction and poetry.

Early life

Born in rural

eastern Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 counti ...

, near the small town of Crossville, Sims has described in interviews how he grew up in a household without a telephone, an automobile, or, at times, indoor plumbing. He spent his teenage years in a wheelchair because of

rheumatic arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...

following an attack of

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

. Although Robert Macfarlane in the

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

(London) said that Sims "is clearly the beneficiary of a wide-ranging American liberal-arts education", Sims did not attend university. But he developed in childhood a preoccupation with literature, art, and nature, themes that dominate his adult work.

Career

Sims published his first book, ''Darwin's Orchestra'', in 1997, about which

Martin Gardner Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914May 22, 2010) was an American popular mathematics and popular science writer with interests also encompassing magic, scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literatureespecially the writin ...

wrote, "Sims's range is awesome." But it was Sims's second book, ''Adam's Navel: A Natural and Cultural History of the Human Form'', in 2003, that established his reputation as an original and witty observer of the natural world. Published simultaneously in the U.S. and England, it was chosen as a ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' Best Science Book and a ''New York Times'' Notable Book. In 2007

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheimer and then acqu ...

published ''Apollo's Fire: A Day on Earth in Nature and Imagination,'' which National Public Radio chose as one of the best science books of the year. In 2009

National Geographic Books The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

published ''In the Womb: Animals'', a companion book to two installments of the acclaimed '' In the Womb'' series on the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

. Sims's writing has been published in many periodicals, including the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'', ''

Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscriptio ...

'', ''

Gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by their high level of refined and elaborate food preparation techniques and displays of balanced meals that have ...

'', ''

Orion Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...

'' and ''

American Archaeology The archaeology of the Americas is the study of the archaeology of the Western Hemisphere, including North America (Mesoamerica), Central America, South America and the Caribbean. This includes the study of pre-historic/pre-Columbian and historic ...

''. He has appeared on many radio and television programs, including a multi-part documentary about women's bodies on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's popular program ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

,'' as well as on ''

The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999, to January 7, 2012, replacing the original incarnation of '' CBS This Morning'', and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the n ...

'' on CBS and ''

Inside Edition ''Inside Edition'' is an American tabloid television program that is distributed in Broadcast syndication, first-run syndication by CBS Media Ventures. Having premiered on January 9, 1989, it is the longest-running syndicated-newsmagazine progr ...

''.

Books by Michael Sims

* ''Darwin's Orchestra: An Almanac of Nature in History and the Arts'' (1997, Henry Holt) * ''Adam's Navel: A Natural and Cultural History of the Human Form'' (2003, Viking; published in England by Allen Lane/Penguin, with the subtitles "A Natural and Cultural History of the Human Body" and "The Weird and Wonderful Story of the Human Body") * ''Apollo's Fire: A Day on Earth in Nature and Imagination'' (2007, Viking); U.S. paperback (Penguin) subtitle "A Journey through the Extraordinary Wonders of an Ordinary Day" * ''In the Womb: Animals'' (2009. National Geographic Books), linked to a documentary series on the National Geographic Channel * ''The Story of Charlotte's Web'' (2011,

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

) subtitle "E. B. White's Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic" * ''The Adventures of Henry Thoreau: A Young Man's Unlikely Path to Walden Pond'' (2014, Bloomsbury USA) * ''Arthur and Sherlock'' (2017, Bloomsbury)

Collections edited

* ''The Annotated Archy and Mehitabel'' (2006), by

Don Marquis Donald Robert Perry Marquis ( ; July 29, 1878 – December 29, 1937) was an American humorist, journalist, and author. He was variously a novelist, poet, newspaper columnist, and playwright. He is remembered best for creating the characters A ...

, Edited with Notes and Introduction by Michael Sims (

Penguin Classics Penguin Classics is an imprint (trade name), imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English language, English, Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Korean language, Korean amon ...

) * ''Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Thief'' (2007), by

Maurice Leblanc Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (; ; 11 December 1864 – 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French ...

, Edited with Notes and Introduction by Michael Sims (Penguin Classics) * ''The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime'' (2009), Edited with Notes and Introduction by Michael Sims (Penguin Classics) * ''Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories'' (2010), Edited with Notes and Introduction by Michael Sims (

Walker & Company Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in ...

) * ''The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime: Forgotten Cops and Private Eyes from the Time of Sherlock Holmes'' (2011), Edited with Notes and Introduction by Michael Sims (Penguin Classics) * ''The Dead Witness: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Detective Stories'' (2011) Edited with Notes and Introduction by Michael Sims (

) * ''Frankenstein Dreams: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Science Fiction'' (2017, Bloomsbury USA) * ''The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries'' (2023), Edited with Notes and Introduction by Michael Sims (Penguin Classics)

References

External links

Official Website

* ttps://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303657404576361700206522040 'Some Pig, Some Book'

Anthony Esolen Anthony M. Esolen is a writer, social commentator, translator of classical poetry, and Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Thales College, having been invited to join the faculty in 2023. He previously taught at Furman University, Prov ...

,''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', 11 June 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, Michael American social sciences writers 1958 births Living people People from Cumberland County, Tennessee American anthologists