Synopses & Reviews
Edward O. Wilson - University Professor at Harvard, winner of two Pulitzer prizes, eloquent champion of biodiversity - is arguably one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. His career represents both a blueprint and a challenge to those who seek to explore the frontiers of scientific understanding. Yet, until now, little has been told of his life and of the important events that have shaped his thought.
In Naturalist, Wilson describes for the first time both his growth as a scientist and the evolution of the science he has helped define. He traces the trajectory of his life - from a childhood spent exploring the Gulf Coast of Alabama and Florida to life as a tenured professor at Harvard - detailing how his youthful fascination with nature blossomed into a lifelong calling. He recounts with drama and wit the adventures of his days as a student at the University of Alabama and his four decades at Harvard University, where he has achieved renown as both teacher and researcher.
As the narrative of Wilson's life unfolds, the reader is treated to an inside look at the origin and development of ideas that guide today's biological research. Theories that are now widely accepted in the scientific world were once untested hypotheses emerging from one mans's broad-gauged studies. Throughout Naturalist, we see Wilson's mind and energies constantly striving to help establish many of the central principles of the field of evolutionary biology.
The story of Wilson's life provides fascinating insights into the making of a scientist, and a valuable look at some of the most thought-provoking ideas of our time.
Review
"
Naturalist reads like a classic hero's tale."
The USA Today
Review
"[Naturalist] is one of the finest scientific memoirs ever written, by one of the finest scientists writing today."
Review
"What distinguishes Wilson's story is its handsome prose, honed by years of practice into a concise and sly discourse. Among literary scientists, no one since Rachel Carson has more effectively joined humble detail to a grand vision of life processes and structures."
Review
"A wise personal memoir…. A mixture of loneliness, amusement, curiosity and intellectual rigor makes the voice of this thoughtful man unforgettable."~
The New York Times Book Review "This memoir, a fitting capstone to an extraordinary career, should inspire yet another generation of scientists to explore the natural world."~
Library Journal "Vividly, often beautifully written. Wilson emerges not only as a gifted scientist, but also as a likable, passionate, eloquent person."~Jared Diamond in
The New York Review of Books"In this exquisitely written memoir, the famed Harvard scientist looks back at his childhood in the South as well as his career as a groundbreaking thinker in the field of evolutionary biology. Truly, here is the irrefutable proof that scientists have souls."~
USA Today"Wilson is the grand master of lyrically analytic nature writing."~
Science"Among literary scientists, no one since Rachel Carson has more effectively joined humble detail to a grand vision of life processes and structures."
The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Wilson is the grand master of lyrically analytic nature writing."
Review
"This memoir, a fitting capstone to an extraordinary career, should inspire yet another generation of scientists to explore the natural world."
Review
"Vividly, often beautifully written. Wilson emerges not only as a gifted scientist, but also as a likable, passionate, eloquent person."
Review
"In this exquisitely written memoir, the famed Harvard scientist looks back at his childhood in the South as well as his career as a groundbreaking thinker in the field of evolutionary biology. Truly, here is the irrefutable proof that scientists have souls."
Review
"A wise personal memoir…. A mixture of loneliness, amusement, curiosity and intellectual rigor makes the voice of this thoughtful man unforgettable."
Review
"The book to read, to get the full story on Mr. Wilson’s eventful life, is his memoir Naturalist, published in 1994."
Review
andquot;Naturalist reads like a classic heroand#39;s tale.andquot;
Review
"Naturalist reads like a classic hero's tale."
About the Author
Edward O. Wilson is Pellegrino University Professor and curator of entomology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.
Table of Contents
Prelude
PART I. Daybreak in Alabama
Chapter 1. Paradise Beach
Chapter 2. Send Us the Boy
Chapter 3. A Light in the Corner
Chapter 4. A Magic Kingdom
Chapter 5. To Do My Duty
Chapter 6. Alabama Dreaming
Chapter 7. The Hunters
Chapter 8. Good-Bye to the South
Chapter 9. Orizaba
PART II. Storyteller
Chapter 10. The South Pacific
Chapter 11. The Forms of Things Unknown
Chapter 12. The Molecular Wars
Chapter 13. Islands Are the Key
Chapter 14. The Florida Keys Experiment
Chapter 15. Ants
Chapter 16. Attaining Sociobiology
Chapter 17. The Sociobiology Controversy
Chapter 18. Biodiversity, Biophilia
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Index