The Road
to Wisdom

In The Road to Wisdom, Francis Collins reminds us of the four core sources of judgment and clear thinking: truth, science, faith, and trust.

Available Now:

amazonthe+road+to+wisdom+francis+collins.png

barnes+and+noblethe+road+to+wisdom+francis+collins.png

Amazon Barnes & Noble Books A Million Book Shop Walmart Hachette Book Group (4).png

book+shopthe+road+to+wisdom+francis+collins.png

walmartthe+road+to+wisdom+francis+collins.png

hachette+booksthe+road+to+wisdom+francis+collins.png

Winding road over hills leading into the horizon

About the Book

From “national treasure” Francis Collins (Philip Yancey), the New York Times bestselling author of The Language of God and former director of the National Institutes of Health, comes a deeply thoughtful guidebook to get us beyond societal divisions and back to the sources of wisdom—"the sort that can save us before it is too late” (Jane Goodall).

As the COVID-19 pandemic revealed, we have become not just a hyper-partisan society but also a deeply cynical one, distrustful of traditional sources of knowledge and wisdom. Skepticism about vaccines led to the needless deaths of at least 230,000 Americans. “Do your own research” is now a rallying cry in many online rabbit holes. Yet experts can make mistakes, and institutions can lose their moral compass. So how can we navigate through all this?

In The Road to Wisdom, Francis Collins reminds us of the four core sources of judgment and clear thinking: truth, science, faith, and trust. Drawing on his work from the Human Genome Project and heading the National Institutes of Health, as well as on ethics, philosophy, and Christian theology, Collins makes a robust, thoughtful case for each of these sources—their reliability, and their limits. Ultimately, he shows how they work together, not separately—and certainly not in conflict. It is only when we relink these four foundations of wisdom that we can begin to discern the best path forward in life.

Thoughtful, accessible, winsome, and deeply wise, The Road to Wisdom leads us beyond current animosities to surer footing. Here is the moral, philosophical, and scientific framework with which to address the problems of our time—including distrust of public health, partisanship, racism, response to climate change, and threats to our democracy—but also to guide us in our daily lives. This is a book that will repay many readings, and resolve dilemmas that we all face every day.

About the Author

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D, is a physician-scientist and one of the best-known scientists of the current era. His own research has led to the discovery of the cause of cystic fibrosis and several other genetic disorders. He continues to lead an active research group at the National Institutes of Health focused on diabetes and progeria, a rare form of premature aging. He is also currently leading a national initiative to eliminate the viral disease hepatitis C.

Dr. Collins served as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden. In that role, he guided the nation’s biomedical research in everything from basic science to clinical trials, including a historic series of research partnerships addressing diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, neuroscience, precision medicine, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to that, he served as Director of the International Human Genome Project, coordinating a consortium of laboratories in six countries to produce the first-ever complete sequence of the human DNA instruction book in 2003. His contributions to science have been recognized by election to the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and the awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science.

Dr. Collins became a Christian at age 27. His best seller The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief (2006) made the case for the rationality of faith and its complementarity to science. He followed that up by founding BioLogos, which has become the leading organization for discussions of the possible harmony of rigorous science and serious Christian faith. In 2020, he received the Templeton Prize, which celebrates scientific and spiritual curiosity.

Dr. Collins received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Virginia, a doctorate in physical chemistry from Yale University, and a medical degree from The University of North Carolina. He lives with his wife Diane Baker in Chevy Chase, MD.

Illustration of bench surrounded by greenery

FAQ

This is a book about the sources of wisdom, something that our divisive society has pushed back into the shadows. I was inspired to write it after spending many years in the public eye and seeing just how badly polarization and politics have warped our thinking – including our ability to discern truth, our understanding of science, our anchor to the fundamentals of faith, and our insights about where to place our trust. This is my attempt to “un-warp” us, and to help recover what matters most.
In The Road to Wisdom, I point out that science and faith ask and answer different questions. Science is a reliable way to learn how the natural world works. But science has no answers for questions like “Why is there something instead of nothing?”, or “Why am I here?”. Put another way, science answers questions that begin with “How”. Faith answers questions that being with “Why”. Since I became a serious Christian 47 years ago, I have not encountered a situation where I found my faith and scientific perspectives to be in conflict. I wrote about this in The Language of God (Free Press, 2006, still in print). For more information about how rigorous science and serious Christian faith can fit together, check out www.biologos.org, a website that addresses the most commonly asked questions and provides insights and testimonials.
Dr. Collins continues to oversee a research laboratory at the National Human Genome Research Institute, where his group is investigating hereditary factors in type 2 diabetes, and developing a possible gene therapy cure for the rare disorder of premature aging called progeria. In his spare time, he spends time with his wife Diane, two daughters, and five grandchildren, plays guitar in a rock and roll band, rides a Harley Road King Classic motorcycle, and works out body and soul with a home gym and a well worn Bible.
Yes. For invitations about The Road to Wisdom, please contact Liz Garriga at elizabeth.garriga@hbgusa.com.
For invitations that relate to Dr. Collins’s past and present scientific research at NIH, please contact Gretchen Wood at gretchen.wood@nih.gov.