“Lively and revelatory.”
— ELIZABETH KOLBERT, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

The real story of science isn’t a triumphant breakthrough. It’s messy, mysterious, and deeply human.

In Lost in Curiosity, award-winning journalist Roberta Kwok pulls back the curtain on what scientific discovery actually looks like… Not a Eureka moment, but a fraught, often chaotic pursuit of truth.

Chronicling researchers’ struggles and hopes in the field and lab, Kwok documents it all: fending off relentless snowfall on a remote Greenland glacier, desperately searching for an elusive frog in the rainforests of Borneo, and scrambling to capture fleeting signals of a faraway moon outside our solar system. These are the untold stories of devoted young scientists and restless minds who are chasing nature’s riddles, without knowing what they’ll uncover.

Through vivid reporting and moments of unexpected emotion, Kwok reveals the inner lives of researchers who care profoundly about understanding our world and saving what’s left of it. From enigmatic fossils and mind-bending physics to the puzzling behavior of wild animals, Lost in Curiosity is a journey through the questions that keep scientists up at night—and the sometimes strange, always illuminating paths they take to answer them.

Featuring illustrations by ornithologist and artist Emma Regnier

Praise for Lost in Curiosity

“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

“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

“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, 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

“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

“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, New York Times 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 the Uncertain podcast

“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

“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

INTRODUCTION: Into the Wardrobe
GEOLOGY: The Invisible River
EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY: Call of the Guardian Frog
ASTRONOMY: Moon on Fire
ECOLOGY: The Heroes We Need
CLIMATE CHANGE: Emerald Dreams
PHYSICS: Paper Labyrinth
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY: Bright Lines
CHEMISTRY: A Space of Possibility
PALEONTOLOGY: Through a Glass Darkly
EPILOGUE: An Act of Humility

About the Author

Roberta Kwok is a science writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, NewYorker.com, Nature, New Scientist, Audubon, and other publications. She has received a fellowship from the Knight Science Journalism Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Geophysical Union. Before becoming a journalist, Kwok worked in a genetics lab at Stanford University. She lives in the Seattle area and is originally from Canada.

Image credits: Caitlin Sacks / Sourcebooks, Jenny Jimenez

Praise for Lost in Curiosity

Table of Contents

About the Author