Naturalist - Softcover

Wilson, Edward O.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1597260886 ISBN 13: 9781597260886

Publisher: Island Press, 2006

Synopsis

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 with 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.

About this title

Review:

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.

About the Author:

Edward O. Wilson is Pellegrino University Professor and curator of entomology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Island Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1597260886
• ISBN 13: 9781597260886
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416