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Comment by Outdoorsman | Hacker News Reader

You'll not waste your time reading everything you can get your hands on regarding E.O.Wilson -- to include anything he wrote, or anything written about him by those he influenced and mentored.

The man was an absolute intellectual giant, who freely shared his amazing insights . . .

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If you had to pick one book though what would it be? Only one!

It depends on what kind of geek you are. "The Ants" is perhaps my favourite non-fiction book of all time - at the time it was written it was a fair account of the total sum of human knowledge of ants. It's beautifully written and incredibly complete, and although it's now a bit dated, it's still the best reference to ants if you're interested in them. For a broader summary of Wilson's intellectual project I recommend "Consilience" - a wonderful synthesis of almost all his ethical and scientific interests.

Looks like The Ants is quite expensive ($200+). I see a couple of other books on ants by him, would you recommend either of these?

Journey to the Ants https://shop.harvard.com/book/9780674485266

Tales from the Ant World https://www.harvard.com/book/9781324091097_tales_from_the_an...

Consilience: The unity of knowledge

His life, the studies he undertook quietly over protracted periods of time . . . there is no "one book" . . . his mind was a burrowing mind . . . If you appreciate logic, well-reasoned arguments and objective observations --the scientific method personified -- you will savor anything related to his endeavors.

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