爱德华·威尔逊(Edward O．Wilson)，1929年生于美国阿拉巴马州伯明翰，1949年毕业于阿拉巴马大学，1955年获哈佛大学生物学博士学位，同年开始在哈佛大学执教。目前，他任教于佩莱格里诺大学(Unuversnty of Pellegrino)，并为哈佛大学的昆虫学研究员。

威尔逊是当今美国生物学翘楚。他于1969年当选为美国国家科学院院士，获过全世界最高的环境生物学奖项，包括美国的国家科学奖、瑞典皇家科学院颁发的克拉负德奖(Craford Prize)。1996年，威尔逊被《时代》杂志评为对当代美国影响最大的25位美国人之一。

威尔逊擅长著述，曾以《论人性》(On Human Nature)和《蚂蚁》(The Ant)两度获普利策奖。

InNaturalist, Wilson describes for the first time both

his growth as a scientist and the evolution of the science

he has helped def ine. He traces the trajectory of

his life—from a childhood spent exploring the Gulf

oast 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 wit 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.