BENJAMIN BECK: This author is part scientist and part Indiana Jones.
DR. BENJAMIN BECK is a published author many times over and a Scientist Emeritus with the Smithsonian Institute. He earned his degrees at Union College and Boston University and then received his PhD from the University of Chicago. Dr. Beck spent his career in the field of animal cognition and biodiversity conservation, first working as curator for Brookfield Zoo and later the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo. Ben was involved in reintroducing a group of captive-born golden lion tamarin monkeys into the wild rainforests of Brazil, an experience which was the subject of his first fiction novel, Thirteen Gold Monkeys. That book was noted in an NPR series that Melissa Block did regarding the monkeys in Brazil. His latest novel, Ape, was published by Salt Water Media in December 2015. Ape focuses on the chimpanzees of the Gishwati Forest in Rwanda as well as issues of animal rights, responsibilities, and thought.
