
Multiplicity
A Scientist’s Journey into Evolutionary Space
$81.84
- Hardcover
176 pages
- Release Date
10 November 2026
Summary
The awe-inspiring, little-known story of Nobel laureate Frances Arnold’s discovery of directed enzyme evolution and how it was sparked by reading Jorge Luis Borges.
In 1976, a young engineering student from Princeton, Frances Arnold, happened upon Jorge Luis Borges’ short story The Library of Babel while in Madrid – the tale of a vast honeycomb of a library that contains all the answers to the mysteries of humanity. Little did Arnold know that the story would change the cours…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780262054638 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0262054639 |
| Author: | Telmo Pievani |
| Publisher: | MIT Press Ltd |
| Imprint: | MIT Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 176 |
| Release Date: | 10 November 2026 |
| Weight: | 567g |
| Dimensions: | 203mm x 133mm |
You Can Find This Book In
What They're Saying
Critics Review
ENDORSEMENTS
“An electrifying and elegantly crafted journey into biology’s heart of darkness.”
–Adrian Woolfson, cofounder of Genyro; author of On the Future of Species
“This book is a jewel. Telmo Pievani explores the borderlands of biology, philosophy, and literature with wit, erudition, and grace. And he tells the extraordinary story of Frances Arnold with deep humanity. An intensely interesting and valuable volume.”
–David Quammen, author of Breathless and Spillover
“Telmo Pievani once again enchants us with a penetrating perspective on the process that put us all here. This time his perceptive eye alights on the thorny issue of possibility vs. actuality, with compulsively readable results.”
–Ian Tattersall, paleoanthropologist; Curator Emeritus, American Museum of Natural History
“The life journey of an outstanding scientist, literary labyrinths, and some of the most fundamental questions about the tree of life … all seamlessly combined in a fascinating read. I was immediately hooked on this book.”
–Sandra Díaz, Córdoba National University, Argentina
“In Multiplicity, Pievani explores the limits of biological design and how it has been probed by both evolution and science, explained elegantly through his masterful weaving of philosophy, science, and classic literature.”
–Philip Donoghue, Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Bristol
“In Multiplicity, Pievani’s singular voice reaches through the page and plunges the reader into the astonishing world of Frances Arnold, a visionary whose remarkable life deserves far greater recognition. Bold and deeply original, this biography challenges our conventional view of evolution as linear progression, using philosophical concepts to reimagine it as a vast, interconnected library of possibility. The result is a fascinating and thought-provoking read, one that reminds us that there are many ways of understanding life, and many ways of being human.”
–Nathalia Holt, author of Rise of the Rocket Girls
About The Author
Telmo Pievani
Telmo Pievani is Professor at the Department of Biology, University of Padua, chair of Philosophy of Biological Sciences, and visiting scientist at the American Museum of Natural History, New York. He is the author of Imperfection and Serendipity.
Returns
This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.




