Wilson, E. O.2013. Letters to a Young Scientist. Liveright Publishing Corporation, W. W. Norton and Company, New York, 244 pp. ISBN 978-0-87140-377-3, price (hardbound), $21.95

Abstract

E. O. Wilson 2013. Letters to a Young Scientist. Liveright Publishing Corporation, W. W. Norton and Company, New York, 244 pp. ISBN 978-0-87140-377-3, price (hardbound), $21.95. No doubt, E. O. Wilson is among, if not the most, important and prolific contributors to our collective dialogue and consciousness on many levels of biology and conservation (notably natural history, biodiversity, and unification of biology and humanities). He has authored or coauthored 27 books including 2 Pulitzer Prize winners for nonfiction, On Human Nature (1978) and The Ants (1991). As much as I have learned from his scientific and philosophical contributions over the years, I must confess that his latest book Letters to a Young Scientist particularly touches me. This book is a personal and heartfelt addition to his impressive body of work and perhaps the most useful to his colleagues and admirers across many disciplines that often struggle with how best to mentor students, particularly graduate students that aspire to successful careers in science but may be floundering. Letters to a Young Scientist is a quick but very important read—it should be savored. The book is a collection of 20 chapters, written as “letters” to those students who want the …