> Having spoken with Prof. Wilson on numerous occasions (long ago), and thus knowing what a charming gentleman he is, I can't help but suspect that he would have preferred this work escape the attention of combative public intellectuals like Dawkins, Pinker, and Taleb.

Dawkins and Wilson have been directly exchanging attacks on this issue for some time [0], and however charming Wilson might be personally, he's hardly been any less combative than Dawkins.

[0] e.g., http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/nov/07/richard-dawki...