Chip Walter

Chip Walter is an author, National Geographic Explorer, filmmaker and former CNN bureau chief with an unusually broad background that spans both science and entertainment. Chip has written and sold multiple screenplays during his career, but his sixth book, Doppelgänger, is his first novel, a science fiction thriller that explores a post-dystopian world where it has become possible to download a human mind into a cyborg, and where artificial intelligence approaches human consciousness. Its main character is faced with solving his own murder. Chip's earlier books include Immortality, Inc. -- Renegade Science, Silicon Valley Billions, and the Quest to Live Forever for National Geographic and is available in bookstores everywhere. Salon's review: “Walter has clearly gained the trust of some of the most innovative and imaginative thinkers of the early 21st century, and in doing so he's able to offer the reader a glimpse inside their minds. And what we find there is certainly colorful. Whatever one thinks of the quest for immortality, it is impossible not to be intrigued by it”. The Wall Street Journal wrote, “While Immortality, Inc. is focused on aging and the efforts to defy it, the book is also a gripping chronicle of private-sector experimentation and ingenuity.” “Witty … worth the ride,” wrote Nature, and Publisher’s Weekly calls the book, “Fascinating.” It was chosen one of the nation’s top six science books by Malcolm Gladwell’s Next Big Idea Club. Other books include Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived; Thumbs, Toes and Tears – And Other Traits That Make Us Human (Walker –– Bloomsbury Publishing); I’m Working on That with William Shatner (Simon and Schuster); and Space Age for Random House, the companion volume to the primetime PBS series Chip developed. His books have been published in eight languages and have reached out to mainstream audiences rom Kyoto to Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Hong Kong, Mexico City and Krakow to explore topics that relate to the human condition, human evolution, artificial intelligence, emotion, behavior and creativity. The New York Times Book Review, called Last Ape “a lively journey… that takes an antic delight in the triumphal adaptations and terrifying near misses of human evolution.” ”The New Yorker called it “engaging” and “fascinating.” Futurist Ray Kurzweil said, “Read it! You’ll never see yourself or anyone else the same way.” And Booklist called it, “captivating, informative, exceptionally well-written and accessible.” Thumbs, Toes and Tears also received rave reviews: Publisher’s Weekly hailed it as “fascinating and superbly written,” while Kirkus Reviews said, “Walter narrates with flair and enthusiasm.” Chip’s screenplays have been sold to Universal/Imagine Films, Tri-Star and Warner Bros. He wrote the screenplay and story for Sunset Grill starring Peter Weller, Stacy Keach and Lori Singer. His articles have appeared in National Geographic, The Economist, Slate, the Wall Street Journal, Scientific American and Scientific American Mind, among many other publications, and have covered subjects as diverse as the origins of kissing, laughter, human consciousness and the origins of human art. He has been lucky enough to travel to seven continents as a journalist and documentary filmmaker, from the Amazon Rain Forest and outback of Australia to the Serengeti and remote islands of the Pacific. Even Antarctica as part of his current effort with his wife Cyndy to travel all seven continents, never by jet. His cover story The First Artists was National Geographic’s featured story in January 2015. Chip is particularly fascinated with two seemingly unrelated subjects – human behavior, and the increasingly rapid advance of technology and its effect upon our lives and society. No technology, he believes, no matter how powerful, can succeed unless it connects positively and effectively on a human level. To smooth the immense and disruptive transitions that lie ahead, he feels it is crucial for us to not only understand the power of emerging technology, but also to better comprehend the core attributes that make humans human and humane. “It’s crucial to explore both sides of the equation,” he says. “We can’t hope to build a promising future if we don’t develop a better understanding of ourselves. The two are inseparable, though we often don’t usually see it that way.” Chip's magazines, documentaries and books have won several awards. To learn more about Chip's works and adventures, blog and photography from around the world visit his website or search him online.