Praise for Lost in Curiosity
"Lost in Curiosity takes readers into the laboratory and out into the field to explore science as a work in progress. Roberta Kwok has written a lively and revelatory book, and, as science in the U.S. increasingly comes under attack, it couldn't be more timely."
— ELIZABETH KOLBERT, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
"Opening Lost in Curiosity is like walking through a door into a sometimes strange but always beautiful land, full of the unexpected adventures that science offers, the puzzles, the challenges, and the bright flash of understanding when it all comes together. It's the kind of trip you won't want to miss."
— DEBORAH BLUM, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Poison Squad: One Chemist’s Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
"Lost in Curiosity shows that the doing of science is not a tidy affair, with clear answers following in a straight line from clear questions. Instead, there are wrong turns, misguided assumptions, broken equipment, and a great deal of thrashing around... Both colorful and beautifully written, Kwok's book tells not only this story but also authentically conveys the daily life and mind of the scientist."
— ALAN LIGHTMAN, author of Einstein’s Dreams and co-author of The Shape of Wonder: How Scientists Think, Work, and Live
"Lost in Curiosity tackles my favorite part of the scientific process, when experiments go moldy and frogs refuse to be found, and malfunctioning equipment conjures moons out of thin air. Roberta Kwok is a trustworthy guide as she shares tantalizing peeks into the murk that precedes discovery and proves that our instinct to do science, and better understand our world, is what makes us human. One of the most honest books about science I've ever read, and an utter delight."
— SABRINA IMBLER, author of How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures
"It's a rare book that finds thrills, not in the triumph of discovery, but the messiness of the journey. Roberta Kwok's warm, humane portraits of scientists in the midst of unfinished work jump from jungles to deserts and span the cosmic to the microscopic. Lost in Curiosity is an enthralling glimpse of hidden worlds, delightful, bright with insight, and deeply necessary."
— MELISSA L. SEVIGNY, author of Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon
"From Borneo to Greenland to Jupiter's moons, Lost in Curiosity is an engaging, globe-spanning glimpse into the lives of everyday field scientists. Roberta Kwok expertly details the passions and chance that ignite scientific inquiry, and reveals how frustration and struggle go hand in hand with discovery."
— JONATHAN C. SLAGHT, award-winning author of Tigers Between Empires: The Improbable Return of Great Cats to the Forests of Russia and China
“There’s a moment near the beginning of [Lost in Curiosity] that made me sit up and realize that I wasn’t reading a typical science book. A team of geologists are trying to learn about melting glaciers in Greenland, which involves trekking to a dolefully remote spot, analyzing the ice, and planting tracking equipment to be retrieved later with data. But nothing goes right… Most books about science concentrate on big results and the people who deliver them. The writer’s lens typically focuses on the breakthrough, highlights the world-changing discovery… But [Lost in Curiosity] does precisely the opposite, in a fascinating and exciting way… Perhaps this sounds narratively unsatisfying to you. Where is the big reveal? What’s the point if it’s not telling us something groundbreaking? Somehow though, in showcasing all of the tribulations of scientific research, Kwok manages to capture exactly why science is important and interesting.”
— BOBBIE JOHNSON, co-founder of Matter and founder of the Curious Reading Club (chosen for the August book of the month)
“Writing like this is really what helps science come alive… [Kwok] humanizes the diverse group of researchers she has followed, revealing their motivations, dreams, and emotions along the way. Yes, they may be science nerds, but they’re often very funny, quirky, stubborn, flawed, and brilliant. In pulling back the curtain on how research gets done, Kwok writes a wonderful, funny, and touching homage to the “why” of science: Why do scientists care so much that they often subject themselves to months or years of failure? Why should the rest of us care? Why do science at all? By the end of the book, I think she answers those questions beautifully. Yes, it’s the thirst for knowledge and thrill of discovery (tiny frogs, subglacial aquifers, moons orbiting exoplanets) but it’s also the bigger picture of understanding fragile ecosystems and global warming and worlds and animals and physical dimensions whose existence is far beyond what most people can imagine. It matters because it just might change the way we view ourselves, and the world, and the universe beyond us. Kwok, as an intensely curious person whose wonder is infectious, shares the questions, observations, and details that have fascinated her—and in so doing, opens up these new realities for the rest of us. I found it all thrilling.”
—BRYN NELSON, author of Flush: The Remarkable Science of an Unlikely Treasure
“I don't know any other book quite like this one. Roberta Kwok's mission is to take us inside the everyday experience of being a scientist: not at the moment of making a Great Breakthrough, or receiving an Important Award, but at all the other times. The days when your experiment isn't working, or when your signal is just a malfunction of the equipment, or when you can't even get to the place where you've set up your GPS receiver because the ice is melting and it's too hazardous. In some ways the stories are familiar to anyone who has ever been frustrated by plans that go awry. But at the same time, they are absolutely jaw-dropping, because how many of us have ever been to a glacier in Greenland or a jungle in Borneo? This juxtaposition of humans being humans, at the same time that they are trying to do amazing things in the name of science, is wonderfully captured throughout the book.”
—DANA MACKENZIE, author of Master Sun’s Problem: A Mathematical Epic 2,000 Years in the Making and The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect
"Insightful and beautifully written, Lost in Curiosity tells the stories of scientists at work as they grapple with the 'messy middle' of science—the tricky, unpredictable work of carrying out experiments. Kwok takes readers into the daily lives of scientists as they deal with equipment failures, experiments that go awry, and carefully-laid plans derailed... Kwok's gorgeous writing makes her subjects feel alive on the page, and through their stories, she convincingly argues that scientific work is worth doing, even when the outcome is uncertain"
— CHRISTIE ASCHWANDEN, NYT bestselling author of Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery and producer/host of Scientific American’s Uncertain podcast
"Lost in Curiosity is a fascinating exploration of the process of science and the scientists who pursue it. From studies that failed to those that raised more questions than they answered, Kwok deftly threads the twists and turns that define the scientific enterprise... Readers will come away feeling closer to those who have chosen science—and more than a little in awe of their tenacity."
— BETHANY BROOKSHIRE, author of Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains
"Lost in Curiosity is a charming, compelling, and much-needed reminder that even the least glamorous work can be full of beauty, and even dead ends tell a larger story."
— MICHELLE NIJHUIS, author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction