In this anthology of reminiscences by prominent scientists, the roll includes Richard Dawkins, Murray Gell-Mann, Joseph Ledoux and Ray Kurzweil, along with 23 others. The mandate of the book's editor, literary agent Brockman (The Third Culture), to each of these authors was to write an essay explaining how he or she came to be a scientist. Some take him at his word and write meandering stories of childhood. David Buss found his calling—the study of human mating behavior—while working at a truck stop after dropping out of school. Paul Davies says he was born to be a theoretical physicist. Daniel Dennett, on the other hand, seems to have tried every other profession before landing, as if by accident, in science.

NICHOLAS HUMPHREY

DAVID M.BUSS

ROBERT M.SAPOLSKY

MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

MURRAY GELL-MANN

ALISON GOPNIK

PAUL C.W.DAVIES

FREEMAN J.DYSON

LEE SMOLIN

STEVEN PINKER

MARY CATHERINE BATESON

LYNN MARGULIS

JARON LANIER

RICHARD DAWKINS

HOWARD GARDNER

JOSEPH LEDOUX

SHERRY TURKLE

MARC D.HAUSER

RAY KURZWEIL

JANNA LEVIN

RODNEY BROOKS

J.DOYNE FARMER

STEVEN STROGATZ

TIM WHITE

V.E.RAMACHANDRAN

DANIEL C.DENNETT

JUDITH RICH HARRIS