About the Author

Edward O. Wilson (1929-2021) was the author of more than thirty books, including Anthill, Letters to a Young Scientist, and The Conquest of Nature. The winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, Wilson was a professor emeritus at Harvard University and lived with his wife in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Reviews

"Edward O. Wilson, the evolutionary biologist who has studied social behavior among insects and humans, offers advice to aspiring researchers...A naturalist at heart, he plays down technology, math, even intelligence, proposing that a good scientist should be 'bright enough to see what can be done but not too bright as to become bored doing it.'...delivers deep insights into how observation and experiment drive theory." -- Jascha Hoffman - New York Times "The eminent entomologist, naturalist and sociobiologist draws on the experiences of a long career to offer encouraging advice to those considering a life in science... Glows with one man's love for science." -- Kirkus Reviews "I want to express my gratitude. Thank you for reminding me and thousands of others why we became -scientists. Your book Letters to a Young Scientist is first and foremost a book about passion and the delight of discovery." -- Bill Streever - New York Times Book Review "In this fund of practical and philosophical guidance distilled from seven decades of experience, Wilson provides exactly the right mentoring for scientists of all disciplines-and all ages... This is no pompous, deeply philosophical treatise on how great ideas develop. Wilson shares his simple love for ants and their natural history, revelling in them without hesitation. Everything else follows." -- Nature "Inspiring... Ought to be on the shelves of all high school and public libraries." -- Library Journal