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Scientist: E. O. Wilson: A Life in Nature Hardcover – November 9, 2021

4.8 out of 5 stars 184 ratings

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A masterful, timely, fully authorized biography of the great and hugely influential biologist and naturalist E. O. Wilson, one of the most ground-breaking and controversial scientists of our time—from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb

“An impressive account of one of the 20th century’s most prominent biologists, for whom the natural world is ‘a sanctuary and a realm of boundless adventure; the fewer the people in it, the better.’” —
The New York Times Book Review

Few biologists in the long history of that science have been as productive, as ground-breaking and as controversial as the Alabama-born Edward Osborne Wilson. At 91 years of age he may be the most eminent American scientist in any field.

Fascinated from an early age by the natural world in general and ants in particular, his field work on them and on all social insects has vastly expanded our knowledge of their many species and fascinating ways of being. This work led to his 1975 book
Sociobiology, which created an intellectual firestorm from his contention that all animal behavior, including that of humans, is governed by the laws of evolution and genetics. Subsequently Wilson has become a leading voice on the crucial importance to all life of biodiversity and has worked tirelessly to synthesize the fields of science and the humanities in a fruitful way.

Richard Rhodes is himself a towering figure in the field of science writing and he has had complete and unfettered access to Wilson, his associates, and his papers in writing this book. The result is one of the most accomplished and anticipated and urgently needed scientific biographies in years.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“It has been an honor to know Ed Wilson. His life and work have inspired so many—scientist and layperson, alike. Richard Rhodes’s Scientist is a wonderful introduction to one of the great thinkers and observers of our age.”
Paul Simon

“An impressive account of one of the 20th century’s most prominent biologists, for whom the natural world is ‘a sanctuary and a realm of boundless adventure; the fewer the people in it, the better.’”
The New York Times Book Review, "5 New Biographies To Read This Season"

“Wilson’s life and substantial accomplishments—many have called him the “natural heir” to Darwin—are ripe topics for exploration, and particularly important as we continue to confront the climate crisis’ effects on biodiversity."
—Lit Hub, "Most Anticipated Books of 2021"

“Pulitzer–winner Rhodes (The Making of the Atomic Bomb) does justice to ‘one of the...greatest biologists of the twentieth century’ in this brilliant biography…Rhodes depicts Wilson as a tireless field scientist at a time when the general belief was that the future of biological discoveries was in the laboratory, and as a proponent who popularized sociobiology, and as a Pulitzer-winner for his books The Ants and On Human Nature. The author leaves no doubt as to Wilson’s broad impact on science and the public’s perceptions of nature, without ever veering into hagiography. This is a must-read.”
Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Esteemed biographer and historian Rhodes warmly portrays Wilson as an ambitious and accomplished biologist, a passionate and influential advocate for identifying all life forms and preserving half of Earth as natural habitat, and a prolific, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer…Rhodes also illuminates Wilson's insights into biodiversity, biophilia, altruism, and the nature of science…His many admirable attributes include a genuine inquisitiveness, sense of wonder, and deep concern for all life, from insects to people, and our planet. Rhodes' biography makes a fine companion to Wilson's Tales from the Ant World (2020).”
Booklist, starred review

“Rhodes (who won a Pulitzer for The Making of the Atomic Bomb) devotes as much time to Wilson’s remarkable life as to his remarkable achievements as a biologist, making this biography a joy to read.”
The Washington Post, "10 Books To Read in November"

“Richard Rhodes. . .himself a Pulitzer Prize winner, has produced a well-crafted book on the unlikely trajectory of ‘a polite, soft-spoken product of Gulf Coast Alabama, the first in his family to graduate from college’. . .Rhodes says of Wilson that he ‘never stopped growing in knowledge or expanding in range.’ What a life.” –Yale Alumni Magazine

About the Author

Richard Rhodes is the author or editor of 22 books, including The Twilight of the Bomb, the last volume in a quartet about nuclear history. The first, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, won the Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, and a National Book Critics Circle Award.  He has received numerous fellowships for research and writing, including grants from the Ford Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He has been a visiting scholar at Harvard and MIT and a host and correspondent for documentaries on public television's Frontline and American Experience series. An affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, he lectures frequently to audiences in the United States and abroad.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 9, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 038554555X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385545556
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.34 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.46 x 1.04 x 9.54 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 out of 5 stars 184 ratings

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Richard Rhodes
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Richard Rhodes is the author of 25 works of history, fiction and letters. He's a Kansas native, a father and grandfather. His book The Making of the Atomic Bomb won a Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction, a National Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award. He lectures widely on subjects related to his books, which run the gamut from nuclear history to the story of mad cow disease to a study of how people become violent to a biography of the 19th-century artist John James Audubon. His latest book is Hell and Good Company, about the people and technologies of the Spanish Civil War. His website is www.RichardRhodes.com.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
184 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the biography insightful, with one review noting how it captures Wilson's passion for science. The book receives positive feedback for its readability, with one customer highlighting the author's clear and intelligent writing style. Customers appreciate the book's coverage of Wilson's life, with one review mentioning the ongoing references to Wilson and Camus of interest.

10 customers mention "Biography quality"10 positive0 negative

Customers praise the biography for its clarity and intelligence, providing new insights into E. O. Wilson's life and scientific career.

"...Overall, this is a superbly well written biography, being just the right length and flowing with details but not loading the reader with excess...." Read more

"...An impressive account of one of the 20th century’s most prominent biologists, for whom the natural world is ‘a sanctuary and a realm of boundless..." Read more

"...how and why Wilson chose his field and topics, the logic and logistics behind his experiments and the difference between field and lab science..." Read more

"...*Scientist* is an excellent biography that will enlighten you, giving insight into how E.O. Wilson has sustained such an influential professional..." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable, with one noting its great writing.

"...and unfettered access to Wilson, his associates, and his papers in writing this book...." Read more

"...collaborate to produce a biography of one of them, prepare for an excellent read...." Read more

"...Great subject. Great writing. Read and enjoy while smiling and learning." Read more

3 customers mention "Wilson's life"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate Wilson's life story, with one noting it serves as a good introduction to his work, while another mentions the ongoing references to Wilson and Camus of interest throughout the book.

"...Wilson is a classic, and most likely will just get better as time goes by and his view of nature can be integrated into a holistic understanding of..." Read more

"...Good intro to EO Wilson. Now read some of his works." Read more

"Good book about a great person...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2021
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Rhodes’s biography of E. O. Wilson is a very approachable description of the life and contributions of the Harvard biologist. I recall taking my young children down Oxford Street to see the “bugs” in the Harvard collection. Hundreds if not thousands of “bugs” pinned in some logical order. Yet this was just the static and at best morphological world of these creatures. Where Wilson managed to excel is understanding and explaining the dynamic societal world of these creatures, as living, organized, dynamic and adaptive entities.

    Rhodes takes the reader from Wilson’s early youth in the south and his interest in “bugs” and his travels up to Harvard and his establishment of himself as a world renowned experts in bot the statics and dynamics of these creatures.

    The book can be divided into three sections. The first is his early life and his establishment as an exemplar leader in his field. He accomplished this by the extensive field work and then the reduction of that effort into his writings.

    The second phase can be described as a combative phase focused on his work called Sociobiology. I read the book when it first came out and was amazed as to its comprehensive coverage and insightful integration of facts and processes. The basic premise in my mine of sociobiology was the integral part the genetics of the species plays in the social life of the creatures. For Wilson the genetics was viewed at the higher level not down to the DNA level. What I found most intriguing was the attacks and animus he generated in the Marxist crowd at Harvard, Lewontin et al, who felt his approach denied the fundamental deterministic tenets of Marxist dialectic. The presentation of the Marxist attack upon Wilson at an AAAS meeting where he was to speak is reminiscent of the “woke” crowds of today. It was the 60s/70s and I remember these all too well.

    In this second phase we also see the conflict between Watson and Wilson, the DNA chemist/physics crowd and Wilson’s dynamic environment understanding of species behavior. It would take a long time before the two managed to bridge the gap. Yet they did. The interplay of DNA level understandings with the observations of species dynamics is still a massive work in progress.

    The third phase is up to the present where Wilson has been both recognized and accepted.

    I found the ongoing references to Wilson and Camus of interest. It is especially of interest since Camus and Monod ( the French Scientist who explained the details genetic expression with a Nobel in 1965) were joint colleagues in the French Resistance. Perhaps more than just a coincidence.

    Overall, this is a superbly well written biography, being just the right length and flowing with details but not loading the reader with excess. Wilson is a classic, and most likely will just get better as time goes by and his view of nature can be integrated into a holistic understanding of nature.
    10 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2023
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    A masterful, timely, fully authorized biography of the great and hugely influential biologist and naturalist E. O. Wilson, one of the most groundbreaking and controversial scientists of our time - from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb.
    "An impressive account of one of the 20th century’s most prominent biologists, for whom the natural world is ‘a sanctuary and a realm of boundless adventure; the fewer the people in it, the better.’” (The New York Times Book Review)
    Few biologists in the long history of that science have been as productive, as groundbreaking, and as controversial as the Alabama-born Edward Osborne Wilson. At 91 years of age, he may be the most eminent American scientist in any field.
    Fascinated from an early age by the natural world in general and ants in particular, his field work on them and on all social insects has vastly expanded our knowledge of their many species and fascinating ways of being. This work led to his 1975 book Sociobiology, which created an intellectual firestorm from his contention that all animal behavior, including that of humans, is governed by the laws of evolution and genetics. Subsequently, Wilson has become a leading voice on the crucial importance to all life of biodiversity and has worked tirelessly to synthesize the fields of science and the humanities in a fruitful way.
    Richard Rhodes is himself a towering figure in the field of science writing, and he has had complete and unfettered access to Wilson, his associates, and his papers in writing this book. The result is one of the most accomplished and anticipated and urgently needed scientific biographies in years.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2023
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    What I enjoyed most about this book is how it described how science is made.

    Rhodes focus on how and why Wilson chose his field and topics, the logic and logistics behind his experiments and the difference between field and lab science mystified science for me somewhat.

    I particularly enjoyed reading about his battles with Watson and the critics of sociobiology as it confirmed my own sense of how scientists and academics can be just as hide bound and petty as the rest of us.

    Seeing Michael Crichton and Paul Simon pop up was also fun. After reading this, I do feel I am in a better position to understand what makes a great scientist and that is a desire to synthesize a unifying theory that reconciles key questions across multiple disciplines.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2021
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    When two authors, both prolific Pulitzer Prize winning writers, collaborate to produce a biography of one of them, prepare for an excellent read.

    Richard Rhodes has published 23 books, including *John James Audubon: The Making of an American* (2004), and was awarded a Pulitzer for *The Making of the Atomic Bomb* (1986), which explains the intertwining biographies of the many scientists who - beginning in the early 20th century - discovered how matter and energy are related ... science that led to the production of nuclear fission. E.O. Wilson has been awarded the Pulitzer twice, first for *On Human Nature* (1979), which describes how realities of human biological evolution set the stage for observed cultural developments, the second for *The Ants* (1991), a comprehensive work describing this large class of social insects.

    Ed Wilson began his work as a scientist during his childhood (!) in Alabama and continues still at age 92, after a longstanding professorship at Harvard. *Scientist* is an excellent biography that will enlighten you, giving insight into how E.O. Wilson has sustained such an influential professional life for so long.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Gabriel Oliveira da Silva
    5.0 out of 5 stars top
    Reviewed in Brazil on September 29, 2023
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Muito bom!
    Report