About the Author

James Nestor is an author and science journalist who has written for Scientific American, The Atlantic, Outside, The New York Times, and more. His 2014 book, Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What The Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves, was a PEN American finalist, an Amazon Best Science Book of the Year, and a New York Times Editor’s Choice. His next book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, is an international bestseller, with more than three million copies sold in 44 languages. Breath was awarded the Best General Nonfiction Book by the American Society of Journalists and Authors and was a Finalist for Science Book of the Year at the Royal Society. Nestor’s collaboration with The Global Classroom, a partnership with the World Health Organisation and supported by UNICEF, teaches millions of children around the world to breathe better. More at mrjamesnestor.com.

Reviews

“A transformative book that changes how you think about your body and mind.” —Joshua Foer, The New York Times–bestselling author of Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

“Breath is an utterly fascinating journey into the ways we are wired. No matter who you are, you’ll want to read this.” —Po Bronson, The New York Times–bestselling author of What Should I Do with My Life? and coauthor of NurtureShock

“An eye-opening, epic journey of human devolution that explains why so many of us are sick and tired. A must-read book that exposes what our health care system doesn’t see.” —Dr. Steven Y. Park, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, author of Sleep, Interrupted

“I don’t say this often, but when I do I mean it: This book changed my life. Breath is part scientific quest, part historical insight, part Hero’s Journey, full of groundbreaking ideas, and a rollicking good read. I had no idea that the simple and intuitive act of inhaling and exhaling has taken such an evolutionary hit. As a result, I figured out why I sleep so badly and why my breathing feels so often out of sync. With a few simple tweaks, I fixed my breathing and fixed myself. A transformational book!” —Caroline Paul, bestselling author of The Gutsy Girl

“If you breathe, you need this book. When we undervalue anything, including something so basic as breathing, bad things always happen—and Nestor makes it clear how awful it’s gotten. But he also provides a clear airway back to better, deeper, stronger respirations.” —Wallace J. Nichols, PhD, The New York Times–bestselling author of Blue Mind

“Breath shows us just how extraordinary the act of breathing is and why so much depends on how we do it. An enthralling, surprising, and often funny adventure into our most overlooked and undervalued function.” —Bonnie Tsui, author of Why We Swim and American Chinatown

“A welcome, invigorating user’s manual for the respiratory system." —Kirkus Reviews

“Although we all breathe, there is an art and science to breathing correctly. . . . Full of fascinating information an compelling arguments, this eye-opening (or more aptly a mouth-closing and nostril-opening) work is highly recommended.” —Library Journal