Naturalist

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 man’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.

E. O. Wilson, among the most prominent biologists working today, has made signal contributions to the field both large and small. As an entomologist, and especially as a student of several kinds of ants, he is famed among a small audience. He is better known for his work in the controversial subdiscipline of sociobiology for his formulations of island-biogeographic theory, and for his catastrophic view of modern extinctions. His lucid memoir, Naturalist, treats all these matters and more, and it celebrates the sea change in our view of nature--namely, that we now see that "we are bound to the rest of life in our ecology, our physiology, and even our spirit"--that has come about in no small measure because of Wilson's distinguished career.