Naturalist 25th Anniversary Edition

Edward O. Wilson — winner of two Pulitzer prizes, champion of biodiversity, and Faculty Emeritus at Harvard University — is arguably one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. Yet his celebrated career began not with an elite education but from an insatiable curiosity about the natural world and drive to explore its mysteries. Called 'one of the finest scientific memoirs ever written' by the Los Angeles Times, Naturalist is a wise and personal account of Wilson's growth as a scientist and the evolution of the fields he helped define. This 25th Anniversary Edition celebrates Naturalist as a modern classic. Wilson 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. With humor and insight, Wilson recounts his days as a student at the University of Alabama and 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 wide-ranging studies. At once practical and lyric, Naturalist provides fascinating insights into the making of a scientist, and a valuable look at some of the most thought-provoking ideas of our time. As relevant today as when it was first published, Naturalist is a poignant reminder of the deeply human side of science and an inspiring call to celebrate the little things of the world 

Table of Contents:
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

About the Author :
Regarded as one of the world's preeminent biologists and naturalists, Edward O. Wilson grew up in south Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, where he spent his boyhood exploring the region's forests and swamps, collecting snakes, butterflies, and ants--the latter to become his lifelong specialty. Dr. Wilson is the author of more than twenty books, including The Ants and On Human Nature, both of which were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. He is currently Faculty Emeritus in the Museum of Comparative Zoology and Pellegrino University Professor, Emeritus at Harvard University.

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" "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."-- "The USA Today" "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 "The New York Review of Books" "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."-- "The Washington Post Book World" "Wilson is the grand master of lyrically analytic nature writing."-- "Science" "[Naturalist] is one of the finest scientific memoirs ever written, by one of the finest scientists writing today."-- "Los Angeles Times" "Naturalist reads like a classic hero's tale."-- "Bloomsbury Review" "The book to read, to get the full story on Mr. Wilson's eventful life, is his memoir Naturalist, published in 1994."-- "The New York Times"