Contemporary Literature, 1970 to Present
Lewis Thomas (1913–1993)
Biologist and physician who was president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Can-
cer Center in New York City. His works include The Lives of a Cell (1974), The
Medusa and the Snail (1979), and Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler’s
Ninth Symphony (1983).
Terry Tempest Williams (1955– )
Naturalist and environmental activist who writes nonfiction prose and poetry. Her
best-known work is Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place (1991).
—Linda Trinh Moser