Carl Safina’s writing has won Orion, Lannan, and National Academies literary awards and the John Burroughs, James Beard, and George Rabb medals. He has a PhD in ecology from Rutgers University. Safina is the inaugural holder of the endowed chair for nature and humanity at Stony Brook University, where he co-chairs the steering committee of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and is founding president of The Safina Center. He hosted the 10-part PBS series Saving the Ocean with Carl Safina. Beyond Words, with its powerful and illuminating insight into the unique personalities of animals, is his seventh book. Dr. Safina lives on Long Island, New York with his wife, two dogs, some chickens, a couple of parrots, and Frankie the kingsnake.