E. O. WilsonReference Series

The Printed & E-Book Editions

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Each volume is available as a printed hardcover and as an e-book from AI Reference Publishers.

Four Volumes

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Volumes One and Two are available now; Volumes Three and Four are in preparation. Ordering links lead to the editions published by AI Reference Publishers.

Volume One

The E. O. Wilson Reader

A chronological review of Wilson's work in original essays across seven parts and twenty-eight chapters.

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Volume Two

The Reference Guide to the Books of E. O. Wilson

A bio-bibliographical essay, a chronological guide, and chapter-level abstracts with Library of Congress classifications.

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Volume Three

A Subject Guide to the Books of E. O. Wilson

Access to Wilson's thought by subject and theme, following his own outline of knowledge.

In preparation
Volume Four

Database of Knowledge in the Books of E. O. Wilson

A searchable database of the ideas and passages across Wilson's works.

In preparation

Looking for Edward O. Wilson's original books? Each volume of this series links to the original editions of the works it discusses. This series is an independent guide to those books, not a substitute for them.

Wilson's Original Works

Order the books this series is drawn from

The Reference Series is a guide to Edward O. Wilson's own books, not a substitute for them. Below are all twenty-four source works, in order of publication. Buy from Amazon or borrow from a library via WorldCat.

The Theory of Island BiogeographyBy Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. WilsonPrinceton University Press · 1967 · ISBN 978-0-691-08836-5The foundational work behind Wilson's island-biogeography theory, discussed in Volume 1, Part III.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
The Insect SocietiesBy Edward O. WilsonHarvard University Press (Belknap) · 1971 · ISBN 978-0-674-45490-3Wilson's first great synthesis of the social insects, discussed in Volume 1, Part I.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
Sociobiology: The New SynthesisBy Edward O. WilsonHarvard University Press (Belknap) · 1975 · ISBN 978-0-674-81621-3The landmark, and controversial, founding of sociobiology, discussed in Volume 1, Part II.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
On Human NatureBy Edward O. WilsonHarvard University Press · 1978 · ISBN 978-0-674-63442-8Wilson's Pulitzer-winning account of the biology of human nature, discussed in Volume 1, Part V.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
Genes, Mind and CultureBy Charles J. Lumsden and Edward O. WilsonHarvard University Press · 1981 · ISBN 978-0-674-34475-4The technical theory of gene-culture coevolution, discussed in Volume 1, Part IV.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
BiophiliaBy Edward O. WilsonHarvard University Press · 1984 · ISBN 978-0-674-07442-2Wilson's meditation on the human affinity for life, discussed in Volume 1, Parts III and VI.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
The AntsBy Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. WilsonHarvard University Press (Belknap) · 1990 · ISBN 978-0-674-04075-5The definitive, Pulitzer-winning treatise on the ants, discussed in Volume 1, Part I.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
The Diversity of LifeBy Edward O. WilsonHarvard University Press (Belknap) · 1992 · ISBN 978-0-674-21298-5Wilson's synthesis of biodiversity and its loss, discussed in Volume 1, Part III.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
Journey to the AntsBy Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. WilsonHarvard University Press (Belknap) · 1994 · ISBN 978-0-674-48525-9A narrative account of a life studying ants, discussed in Volume 1, Part I.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
NaturalistBy Edward O. WilsonIsland Press · 1994 · ISBN 978-1-559-63288-1Wilson's autobiography and the making of a scientist, discussed in Volume 1, Part IV.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
Consilience: The Unity of KnowledgeBy Edward O. WilsonAlfred A. Knopf · 1998 · ISBN 978-0-679-45077-1Wilson's argument for the unity of all knowledge, discussed in Volume 1, Part VI.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
The Future of LifeBy Edward O. WilsonAlfred A. Knopf · 2002 · ISBN 978-0-679-45078-8Wilson's case for conservation and the bottleneck, discussed in Volume 1, Part III.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
The CreationBy Edward O. WilsonW. W. Norton · 2006 · ISBN 978-0-393-06217-5An appeal to save life on Earth, addressed to religious readers, discussed in Volume 1, Part VI.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
The SuperorganismBy Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. WilsonW. W. Norton · 2009 · ISBN 978-0-393-06704-0The insect colony as a superorganism, discussed in Volume 1, Part I.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
Anthill: A NovelBy Edward O. WilsonW. W. Norton · 2010 · ISBN 978-0-393-07119-1Wilson's only novel, weaving ecology and story, discussed in Volume 1, Part VII.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
The Social Conquest of EarthBy Edward O. WilsonLiveright / W. W. Norton · 2012 · ISBN 978-0-871-40413-8Wilson on eusociality and human origins, discussed in Volume 1, Part V.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
Letters to a Young ScientistBy Edward O. WilsonLiveright / W. W. Norton · 2013 · ISBN 978-0-871-40377-3Counsel on the scientific vocation, discussed in Volume 1, Part IV.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
The Meaning of Human ExistenceBy Edward O. WilsonLiveright / W. W. Norton · 2014 · ISBN 978-0-871-40100-7Wilson on the human condition and meaning, discussed in Volume 1, Part VI.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
A Window on EternityBy Edward O. WilsonSimon & Schuster · 2014 · ISBN 978-1-476-74741-5A biologist's walk through Gorongosa National Park, discussed in Volume 1, Part III.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
Half-EarthBy Edward O. WilsonLiveright / W. W. Norton · 2016 · ISBN 978-1-631-49082-8Wilson's proposal to set aside half the planet for nature, discussed in Volume 1, Part III.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
The Origins of CreativityBy Edward O. WilsonLiveright / W. W. Norton · 2017 · ISBN 978-1-631-49318-8Wilson on creativity and the union of the sciences and humanities, discussed in Volume 1, Parts VI and VII.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
Genesis: The Deep Origin of SocietiesBy Edward O. WilsonLiveright / W. W. Norton · 2019 · ISBN 978-1-631-49554-0Wilson on the evolutionary origin of societies, discussed in Volume 1, Part II.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
Tales from the Ant WorldBy Edward O. WilsonLiveright / W. W. Norton · 2020 · ISBN 978-1-631-49620-2Wilson's late, personal stories of the ants, discussed in Volume 1, Part I.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat
Scientist: E. O. WilsonBy Richard RhodesDoubleday · 2021 · ISBN 978-0-385-54556-1Richard Rhodes's authorized biography of Wilson, drawn on throughout Volume 2, Part I.Buy · AmazonBorrow · WorldCat