Naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is the father of evolution. His groundbreaking The Origin of Species argued that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection. As much as anyone in the modern era, Darwin has changed the course of human thought. Edward O. Wilson (1929-2021) was the author of more than thirty books, including Anthill, Letters to a Young Scientist, and The Conquest of Nature. The winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, Wilson was a professor emeritus at Harvard University and lived with his wife in Lexington, Massachusetts.

"...will bring the wonders of Darwin to a wide audience. [Darwin] was not only great in his time, but if anything he is even greater today." John Tyler Bonner, The Times Literary Supplement "Anyone who wishes to start the new year with a real intellectual feast will buy the four 'great books' of Darwin, published in one volume by W.W. Norton." A.N. Wilson, The Daily Telegraph