Susan Zakin

Susan Zakin was born in New York City but headed west as soon as she could pack (and drive) her Honda Civic. She became one of the nation’s most respected writers on the environment. Her first book, Coyotes and Town Dogs: Earth First! and the Environmental Movement, is a rollicking history of American conservation, pitting the “wild men” and women of the West against their deal-making Washington, D.C. counterparts. In 2001, she worked in Madagascar as a Sen. John Heinz fellow under the auspices of the International Center for Journalists. Her next book,In Katrina’s Wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster reflects the awareness she gained about the intimate connections between nature and culture on the world’s fourth-largest island. Zakin also edited the anthology Naked: Writers Uncover the Way We Live on Earth, and her articles and essays have appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, and literary journals. Her most recent book is Waiting for Charlie: Mercenary Soldiers, Failed States, and the Love That Means More Than Money. She is at work on a novel.
With her husband, a former professional soccer player from Kenya, she runs Cowgirls & Pirates (www.cowgirlsandpirates.com), the only U.S.-based travel company working exclusively with safari operators and communities protecting nature in Africa.
Follow Susan at www.susanzakin.com