Biographical note

Jared Diamond is Professor of Physiology at the Medical School of the University of California, Los Angeles. Trained in phsyiology, he later took up the study of ecology and has made fundamental contributions to both disciplines. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee (which won the British Science Book Prize in 1992) and Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the last 13,000 Years, also a winner in 1998. Emilia Fox appeared in the BBC's PRIDE AND PRJUDICE whilst still at university, and has gone on to star in REBECCA, DAVID COPPERFIELD, BBC's 2009 MERLIN series and in 2012 starred as Lady Portia Alresford in UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS. She also reads regularly on Radio 4 and has taken over the role as Dr Nikki Alexander in the TV series SILENT WITNESS. Emilia has read numerous audiobooks including the MAGICAL CHILDREN series, THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE by Alan Bradley and SECRETS OF THE TIDES by Hannah Richell for Orion.