Woolly

The True Story of the Quest to Revive one of History's Most Iconic Extinct Creatures

By: Ben Mezrich

Narrated by: Ben Mezrich

The bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and The 37th Parallel tells the fascinating Jurassic Park­-like story of the genetic restoration of an extinct species—the woolly mammoth. “Paced like a thriller…Woolly reanimates history and breathes new life into the narrative of nature” (NPR).

With his “unparalleled” (Booklist, starred review) writing, Ben Mezrich takes us on an exhilarating and true adventure story from the icy terrain of Siberia to the cutting-edge genetic labs of Harvard University. A group of scientists work to make fantasy reality by splicing DNA from frozen woolly mammoth into the DNA of a modern elephant. Will they be able to turn the hybrid cells into a functional embryo and potentially bring the extinct creatures to our modern world?

Along with this team of brilliant scientists, a millionaire plans to build the world’s first Pleistocene Park and populate a huge tract of the Siberian tundra with ancient herbivores as a hedge against an environmental ticking time bomb that is hidden deep within the permafrost. More than a story of genetics, this is a thriller illuminating the real-life race against global warming, of the incredible power of modern technology, of the brave fossil hunters who battle polar bears and extreme weather conditions, and the ethical quandary of cloning extinct animals. This “rollercoaster quest for the past and future” (Christian Science Monitor) asks us if we can right the wrongs of our ancestors who hunted the woolly mammoth to extinction and at what cost?

Think SARS cov2

While this is fiction - Today’s events suggest that the end results are what we are living through today. Very eye opening.

Wooly: Science Tries to Resurrect Mammoths

Where does Woolly rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

About 4 on 5 pt. scale. Interesting enough to keep. Informative, instructive. I will listen again to this book at least several times.

What other book might you compare Woolly to and why?

I don't think I have listened to an audiobook quite like this one. Unique.

Which scene was your favorite?

None in particular. I did enjoy the explanations of how genetics is being used to attempt this feat.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No. Not a moment that moved me per se, although I was excited when they found the intact mammoth whose blood was still fresh enough to defrost.

Any additional comments?

A nice complement to a steady diet of mysteries, historical fiction, history, science, art and social sciences. I like to be listening at the same time to a few in one or more of these categories. I need breaks between listening to one genre and another.

Bring back the Mammoth

enjoyed the read, enjoyed learning how Mr. Church and his team started the adventure to bring back the Woolly Mammoth 🦣. Excited to see what next with his team.

A Fun ride

I loved the science in this book and didnt stop listening to it since started

interesting

this book was incredibly interesting. george church is amazing. he had led such a scientific life and made so many scientific contributions.