Citizen Scientist

Hannibal, an award-winning writer and emerging emissary from scientists to the public, sets out to become a citizen scientist herself. In search of vanishing species, she wades into tide pools, follows hawks, and scours mountains. The data she collects will help environmental research - but her most precious discovery might be her fellow citizen scientists: a heroic cast of volunteers devoting long hours to helping scientists measure - and even slow - today's unprecedented mass extinction. A consummate reporter, Hannibal digs into the origins of the tech-savvy citizen science movement - tracing it back through centuries of amateur observation by writers and naturalists. Prompted by her novelist father's sudden death, she also examines her own past and discovers a family legacy of looking closely at the world. Her personal loss only fuels her quest to bear witness to life, and so she ultimately returns her gaze to the wealth of species still left to fight for. Combining research and memoir in impassioned prose, Citizen Scientist is a literary event, a blueprint for action, and the story of how one woman rescues herself from an odyssey of loss - with a new kind of science.

“A”

Sn Frncisco Chronicle Best Book of 2016

2016 Nutilus wrd winner in Ecology & Environment

2017 Northern Cliforni Book wrd finlist

"Inspired by the likes of mrine biologist Ed Ricketts, [Mry Ellen Hnnibl] records strfish die-offs, meets the geeks who trck deforesttion, nd plns web-bsed supercommunity of citizen scientists to counter wht mny re clling the sixth gret extinction. cogent cll to ction."--Nture

"Intelligent nd impssioned, Citizen Scientist is essentil reding for nyone interested in the nturl world."--Sn Frncisco Chronicle

"uthor nd vid citizen scientist Mry Ellen Hnnibl trces n stonishing diversity of volunteer-enbled projects. . . . Citizen Scientist mde me wnt to jump off the couch nd downlod everything from the Spotter Pro pp, intended to keep ships from colliding with whles, to Story Mps, which llows users to crete nd nnotte interctive mps."--Science

"[] celebrtion of nonexperts' contributions to science."--Scientific mericn

"From the intimte moments of n individul's life to the lrger nrrtives of communities, Citizen Scientist tells stories tht weve together grnd nrrtive of our plnet through our enggements with science. [Hnnibl's] ccount demonstrtes the collbortive nture of citizen science, describing wht it mens to prticipte in nturlistic observtion."--Discover mgzine

"Prt personl dventure story nd nturl history, Hnnibl proves herself to be n inspiring writer."--Foreword

"Hnnibl hs converstionl writing style tht moves quickly from topic to topic, punctuted with humorous nd thoughtful sides. . . . lthough centered in Cliforni, the book hs globl messge: Humns hve much in common with the species we're trying to sve."--Science News

"Reders of populr science, especilly those with literry bent, will enjoy this hertfelt rgument for citizen science--tht it might be our lst, best hope for solving myrid environmentl predicments."--Librry Journl

"The ide tht science is something for cste of high priests to ttend to is simply wrong: Science is ll round us, nd we ech cn revel in its plesures nd processes. This is stirring, empowering nrrtive."--Bill McKibben, uthor of Erth

"Species re going extinct thousnd times fster thn they should. But how do we know which, nd where, nd why? No expensive mchine counts biodiversity. Our knowledge comes from the 'citizen scientist.' Tht's you nd me, rmed with notebook or smrtphone--nd with the priceless ttributes of pssion nd curiosity. This book tells tht story brillintly."--Sturt Pimm, Doris Duke Chir of Conservtion Ecology, Nichols School of the Environment, Duke University

"Deeply informed nd highly redble, this is s much soul-serch s book bout science. Fortuntely for us, Mry Ellen Hnnibl loctes some luminous souls who, by the light of their knowledge nd determintion, cn led us out of these drk times for life on Erth."--Crl Sfin, uthor of Beyond Words; Wht nimls Think nd Feel

"Wht n extrordinry book! Citizen Scientist celebrtes the everydy contributions tht ordinry people cn mke to science. Mry Ellen Hnnibl weves together nturl history, cutting-edge technology, nd her own dventures into story tht is certin to inspire the next genertion of citizen scientists."--my Stewrt, uthor of The Drunken Botnist

"n informtive, emotionl, nd fscinting ccount of personl journey to ecologicl citizen science."--Muki Hkly, co-director of Extreme Citizen Science, University College London

"One of Hnnibl's themes in this mbitious new book is the 'double nrrtive, ' or the contrdiction between wht we tell ourselves we re doing every dy nd wht is relly going on. She explins tht empires hve been built on biotic clensing of species, the loss of which now thretens the very foundtion of our lives. Hnnibl poses citizen science, or the contribution of mteurs to reserch, s pltform not only for chnge, but lso s new wy of seeing without the old blinders. Invoking literry, historic, nd scientific touchstones, nd telling personl story s well, she provides wht citizen scientists John Steinbeck nd Ed Ricketts clled the 'toto picture.' We cn't fford to see the Erth ny other wy."--Pul R. Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Popultion Studies nd the president of the Center for Conservtion Biology t Stnford University

Mary Ellen Hannibal is an emerging voice in environmentalism and a sought-after speaker connecting the scientific community to the concerned public. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Esquire, and Elle, among many others. She is an Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellow and a recipient of the National Society of Science Writers' Science and Society Award. She lives in San Francisco.

CITIZEN SCIENTIST is award-winning environmental journalist and author Mary Ellen Hannibal's story of becoming a citizen scientist - and finding more than she bargained for at every turn. She knew she was joining a flourishing community of volunteers who help conserve nature, but she was surprised to learn how this new and tech-enabled movement continues a rich tradition of amateur observation established by writers and naturalists over centuries. And she knew, in the midst of an unprecedented mass extinction, that she would find a shrinking number of species, but she couldn't know how her father's sudden passing would tear open her quest to confront loss.Ultimately, to be a citizen scientist is to intimately examine all the life that still finds a way. So as Hannibal, alongside an inspiring cast of fellow citizen scientists, discovers a wealth of species - by wading into tide pools, tracking hawks, scouring mountains - she also rescues herself from an odyssey of loss, and finds a hopeful and practical way forward.

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