Description

A gripping modern-day detective story about the scientific quest to understand the Oracle of Delphi

Like Walking the Bible, this fascinating book turns a modern eye on an enduring legend. The Oracle of Delphi was one of the most influential figures in ancient Greece. Human mistress of the god Apollo, she had the power to enter into ecstatic communion with him and deliver his prophesies to men. Thousands of years later, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist William J. Broad follows a crew of enterprising researchers as they sift through the evidence of history, geology, and archaeology to reveal—as far as science is able—the source of her visions.

About the Author

William J. Broad is a best-selling author and a senior writer atThe New York Times. In more than thirty years as a science journalist, he has written hundreds of front-page articles and won every major journalistic award in print and film. His reporting shows unusual depth and breadth—everything from exploding stars and the secret life of marine mammals to the spread of nuclear arms and why the Titanic sank so fast.The Best American Science Writing, a yearly anthology, has twice featured his work.He joinedThe Timesin 1983 and before that worked inWashington for Science, the magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.Broad has won two Pulitzer Prizes withTimescolleagues, as well as an Emmy and a DuPont. He won the Pulitzers for coverage of the space shuttleChallengerdisaster and the feasibility of antimissile arms. In 2002, he won the Emmy (PBSNova) for a documentary that detailed the threat of germ terrorism. He was a Pulitzer finalist in 2005 for articles written withTimescolleague David E. Sanger on nuclear proliferation. In 2007, he shared a DuPont Award (The Discovery Channel) from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism for the television documentary,Nuclear Jihad: Can Terrorists Get the Bomb?Broad is the author or co-author of eight books, most recentlyThe Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards(Simon & Schuster, 2012), aNew York Timesbestseller. His books have been translated into dozens of languages. His other titles includeGerms: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War(Simon & Schuster, 2001), a number-oneNew York Timesbestseller;The Universe Below: Discovering the Secrets of the Deep Sea(Simon & Schuster, 1997);Teller's War: The Top-Secret Story Behind the Star Wars Deception(Simon & Schuster, 1992); andBetrayers of the Truth: Fraud and Deceit in the Halls of Science(Simon & Schuster, 1982).Broad's reporting has taken him to Paris and Vienna, Brazil and Ecuador, Kiev and Kazakhstan. In December 1991, he was among the last Westerners to see the Soviet hammer and sickle flying over the Kremlin.Broad's media appearances includeLarry King Live,The Charlie Rose Show, The Discovery Channel,Nova, The History Channel, and National Public Radio. His speaking engagements have ranged from the U.S. Navy in Washington, to the Knickerbocker Club in New York, to the Monterey Aquarium in California. He has also given talks at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City.Broad earned a master's degree in the history of science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He has three adult children and lives with his wife in the New York metropolitan area.