![Naturalist](/assets/artwork/1x1-42817eea7ade52607a760cbee00d1495.gif)
![Naturalist](/assets/artwork/1x1-42817eea7ade52607a760cbee00d1495.gif)
![](/assets/artwork/1x1-42817eea7ade52607a760cbee00d1495.gif)
![](/assets/artwork/1x1-42817eea7ade52607a760cbee00d1495.gif)
Naturalist
A Graphic Adaptation
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- $27.99
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- $27.99
Publisher Description
“Poised to inspire a new generation of naturalists.” - Publishers Weekly
A vibrant graphic adaptation of the classic science memoir
Regarded as one of the world’s preeminent biologists, Edward O. Wilson spent his boyhood exploring the forests and swamps of south Alabama and the Florida panhandle, collecting snakes, butterflies, and ants—the latter to become his lifelong specialty. His memoir Naturalist, called “one of the finest scientific memoirs ever written” by the Los Angeles Times, is an inspiring account of Wilson’s growth as a scientist and the evolution of the fields he helped define. This graphic edition, adapted by New York Times bestselling comics writer Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by C.M.Butzer, brings Wilson’s childhood and celebrated career to life through dynamic full-color illustrations and Wilson’s own lyric writing.
In this adaptation of Naturalist, vivid illustrations draw readers in to Wilson’s lifelong quest to explore and protect the natural world. His success began not with an elite education but an insatiable curiosity about Earth’s wild creatures, and this new edition of Naturalist makes Wilson’s work accessible for anyone who shares his passion. On every page, striking art adds immediacy and highlights the warmth and sense of humor that sets Wilson’s writing apart.
Naturalist was written as an invitation—a reminder that curiosity is vital and scientific exploration is open to all of us. Each dynamic frame of this graphic adaptation deepens Wilson’s message, renewing his call to discover and celebrate the little things of the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ottaviani (Hawking) skillfully adapts Wilson's spirited 1994 memoir into a graphic narrative full of personality, but without skimping on the science. Wilson, the famed ecologist and self-proclaimed "naturalist hobo," illuminates big ideas by celebrating the small things in life: his meticulous study of ants, for example, helped form foundational theories of biodiversity. His memoir spans an unpretentious, joyful life spent reveling in the natural world and defending the field of ecology. Shuttling among family members in the South in the 1930s and '40s, Wilson studied the world around him, catching snakes and dissecting anthills. "The outdoors was the one part of my world I perceived to hold rock steady. Animals and plants I could count on human relationships were more difficult," he reflects. Ottaviani's adaptation and Butzer's art adds good-natured visual humor, like a depiction of Wilson's stepmom patiently listening to his self-serious debate at age 16 over whether he should devote the rest of his life to butterflies, ants, or the "dazzling variety" of flies. Butzer's clean linework helps an occasionally entomologically dense text become breezy and accessible, though Wilson would surely appreciate how all the flora and fauna are labeled with their scientific names. This hearty graphic memoir is poised to inspire a new generation of naturalists.