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Chip Walter

Goodreads Author

Born

Pittsburgh, The United States

Website

http://www.chipwalter.com

Twitter

chipwalter

Genre

Science, Thriller, Science Fiction

Influences

Lewis Thomas, Loren Eiseley, James Joyce, Raymond Chandler, John Stein ...more

Member Since

October 2012

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I am an author, National Geographic Explorer, filmmaker and former CNN bureau chief. Mostly because of my irrational curiosity, I've developed an unusually broad background that spans both science and entertainment. I have written and sold multiple screenplays, but my sixth book, Doppelgänger, is my first novel, a science fiction thriller that explores a post-dystopian world where the main character is faced with solving his own murder, and where artificial intelligence approaches human consciousness. More details on that here: https://chipwalter.com/doppelganger.)

My earlier books include Immortality, Inc. -- Renegade Science, Silicon Valley Billions, and the Quest to Live Forever for National Geographic. It's available in bookstores everyw I am an author, National Geographic Explorer, filmmaker and former CNN bureau chief. Mostly because of my irrational curiosity, I've developed an unusually broad background that spans both science and entertainment. I have written and sold multiple screenplays, but my sixth book, Doppelgänger, is my first novel, a science fiction thriller that explores a post-dystopian world where the main character is faced with solving his own murder, and where artificial intelligence approaches human consciousness. More details on that here: https://chipwalter.com/doppelganger.)

My earlier books include Immortality, Inc. -- Renegade Science, Silicon Valley Billions, and the Quest to Live Forever for National Geographic. It's 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 that I developed back in the stone age.

I have been fortunate enough to have my books published in eight languages that have reached mainstream audiences from Kyoto to Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Hong Kong, Mexico City and Krakow, God help them.

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.” And Booklist called it, “captivating, informative, exceptionally well-written and accessible.” Thumbs, Toes and Tears also received some nice reviews: Publisher’s Weekly wrote“fascinating and superbly written,” while Kirkus Reviews said, “Walter narrates with flair and enthusiasm.”

When I did a stint in Hollywood, I sold screenplays to Universal/Imagine Films, Tri-Star and Warner Bros. I've written tons of articles over the years for National Geographic, The Economist, Slate, the Wall Street Journal, and Scientific American, among many others covering subjects from the origins of kissing, laughter and human consciousness to the origins of human art and the development of futuristic technologies. My work as a journalist and documentary filmmaker, have taken me all over the place -- from the Amazon Rain Forest and Outback of Australia to the Serengeti and remote islands of the Pacific. Even Antarctica as part of my current project with his wife Cyndy to travel all seven continents, never by jet.

Sorry for piling all of that information on you, but there's just a bit more. I'm deeply fascinated with two seemingly unrelated subjects – human behavior, and the increasingly rapid advance of technology and its effect upon our lives and society. I believe no technology, no matter how powerful, can succeed unless it connects positively and effectively on a human level. (Thus Doppelgänger.) To smooth the immense and disruptive transitions that lie ahead, I feel it's crucial for us to not only understand the power of emerging technology, but also to better comprehend the core attributes that make human ...more

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Chip Walter’s books

Average rating: 3.94 · 1,808 ratings · 250 reviews · 15 distinct works • Similar authors

	Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived 4.01 avg rating — 1,247 ratings — published 2013 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human 3.88 avg rating — 211 ratings — published 2006 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Immortality, Inc.: Renegade Science, Silicon Valley Billions, and the Quest to Live Forever 3.60 avg rating — 206 ratings — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Doppelgänger: An Orphan, a Prodigy, a Murder by Chip Walter (Goodreads Author), Frank Harris (illustrator) 4.01 avg rating — 116 ratings — published 2024 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Misadventures of Ernest Fletcher Quick 3.25 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Doppelgänger: An Orphan, a Prodigy, a Murder by Chip Walter (Goodreads Author), Scott Brick (reader) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Misadventures of Ernest Fletcher Quick did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Misadventures of Ernest Fletcher Quick - Episodes 22 - 25 did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Misadventures of Ernest Fletcher Quick did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Misadventures of Ernest Fletcher Quick (Episodes One Through Seventeen): Master Edition Episodes 1 through 17 did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Chip Walter…

35 posts
Chip Walter's Blog: Childhood Is Why We Are the Last Ape Standing

First Drafts - The Horror of Facing the First Blank Page of Your Book

Tips For Dealing With Paralysis, Writer’s Block and Procrastination

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Published on January 27, 2026 11:40

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The Space Between Worlds (The Space Between Worlds #1)

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Apr 16, 2026 07:34PM

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Existing : A Present Solution (The Manifest Utopia series Book 3)

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Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light – The Definitive Biography of Cinema's Master of Suspense and His Extraordinary Career

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Chip Walter is currently reading The Space Between Worlds (The Space Between Worlds #1) by Micaiah Johnson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 16, 2026 07:34PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chip Walter is currently reading Existing : A Present Solution (The Manifest Utopia series Book 3) by Stephan Pacheco	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 16, 2026 07:31PM · like
Chip Walter is currently reading Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light – The Definitive Biography of Cinema's Master of Suspense and His Extraordinary Career by Patrick McGilligan	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 20, 2025 03:40AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Alfred Hitchcock by Patrick McGilligan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Alfred Hitchcock by Patrick McGilligan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chip Walter joined the groups Science Fiction Aficionados and Action/Adventure Aficionados
Apr 13, 2025 09:40AM
Chip Walter liked Hannah's review of Things Don't Break on Their Own: "Audiobook narrator putting in work on accents. "
Sep 19, 2024 11:17AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Things Don't Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Things Don't Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chip Walter made a comment on Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.)’s review of Nineteen Eighty-Four " Couldn't agree more. We have entered dangerous territory and had better hope Donald Trump does not succeed in undoing American democracy in the coming ...more "
Aug 21, 2024 12:30PM · see review

More of Chip's books…

Quotes by Chip Walter (?)

“Today we are even manipulating the DNA that makes us possible in the first place—a case of evolution evolving new ways to evolve.”
― Chip Walter, Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived

tags: evolution, human-evolution, نظرية-التطور

3 likes

“Today we are even manipulating the DNA that makes us possible in the first place—a case of evolution evolving new ways to evolve. (Think about that for a moment.)”
― Chip Walter, Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived

1 likes

“We are the only primates that can tap our foot or move our body in time with a specific rhythm. It’s wired into us, but not into our chimp or gorilla cousins, which tells us that it is a trait that like language, big toes, and toolmaking evolved sometime over the past seven million years.”
― Chip Walter, Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived

1 likes

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