Tortoise!

Journeys with the World’s Most Fascinating Reptile

Tortoise!, my first book, is a globe-spanning work of narrative nonfiction about some of the oldest, strangest, and most endangered creatures on Earth. Four years in the making, it explores the long natural and human history of tortoises — and what their survival can tell us about extinction, conservation, and our relationship with the natural world.

Along the way, I followed scientists and conservationists working with tortoises in the wild and behind the scenes, tracing stories of loss, resilience, and sometimes remarkable recovery. 

Built on field reporting from the deserts, islands, and tropical forests that tortoises call home — from the Galápagos Islands to Aldabra Atoll, South Africa, Bangladesh, Madagascar, and the Mojave Desert — it’s a story of exploration and adventure, deep time and vanished worlds, extinction and survival, and yes, the remarkable lives of tortoises.

Tortoise! will be published by W. W. Norton & Company in July 2027.

Explore The Tortoise Project — the story behind the book.