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![[By Siddhartha Mukherjee ] The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://cdn.thestorygraph.com/dxvp1l4jaxsgcgouwi5vwu64fh78)
4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
I really enjoyed this book, it was my first 500-page book, so I did find it a little difficult partly because of its length. Also at least for my copy the print was very small which made it harder to focus so if you need bigger font it may be something to keep in mind.
I love the first section of the book mainly because of the extra detail that is given about scientists and their famous discoveries. For example, I liked learning about how Darwin potentially skipped over Mendel's study because he doesn't like the style of graphs he used.
If you are more interested in the link between genetics and personality, I would skip to the "through the looking glass section" and start from there. In terms of the writing, I thought it was really good when it came to explaining, but I think mainly people from a scientific background will understand the book. But I think even people with a scientific background that doesn't link to genetics or biology could understand it. I also liked the links to his family history to the informative sections of the book, it never felt out of place.
It's obviously not the most up-to-date book given all the recent news about genetics that couldn't be covered by this book since it's from 2015, but I think it's worth reading, especially if you want a good understanding of the key genetics discoveries of the past.
I love the first section of the book mainly because of the extra detail that is given about scientists and their famous discoveries. For example, I liked learning about how Darwin potentially skipped over Mendel's study because he doesn't like the style of graphs he used.
If you are more interested in the link between genetics and personality, I would skip to the "through the looking glass section" and start from there. In terms of the writing, I thought it was really good when it came to explaining, but I think mainly people from a scientific background will understand the book. But I think even people with a scientific background that doesn't link to genetics or biology could understand it. I also liked the links to his family history to the informative sections of the book, it never felt out of place.
It's obviously not the most up-to-date book given all the recent news about genetics that couldn't be covered by this book since it's from 2015, but I think it's worth reading, especially if you want a good understanding of the key genetics discoveries of the past.
Content Warnings
Minor: Mental illness, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
The book does mention eugenics movements.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
and now i must read everything siddhartha mukherjee has ever written
informative
reflective
medium-paced
It took me almost 4 months to finish this book. It is packed with countless really well written accounts of discoveries tied to the timeline of our understanding of genetics and life sciences.
I renewed and checked out this book 8 times and now I will purchase it for my response/reference.
I renewed and checked out this book 8 times and now I will purchase it for my response/reference.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Audiobook.
Mukherjee is quickly becoming one of my all time favorite writers of science and medicine. "The Gene" is a riveting and powerful follow-up to "The Emperor of All Maladies." It follows the history of the discovery and the evolution of ideas surrounding one the primary vehicles of evolution.
In this writing, Mukherjee forces us to grapple with the past, present, and the "futures of futures," of what science, technology, and the quest for advancement will ultimately mean for humanity. This book can be uniquely unsettling in its thought experiments, so if you're not one for pondering grand ideas about futurism, trans-humanism, and all such talk, then this book is most assuredly not for you.
In this writing, Mukherjee forces us to grapple with the past, present, and the "futures of futures," of what science, technology, and the quest for advancement will ultimately mean for humanity. This book can be uniquely unsettling in its thought experiments, so if you're not one for pondering grand ideas about futurism, trans-humanism, and all such talk, then this book is most assuredly not for you.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4 stars = Fantastic and easy to recommend.
“Normalcy is the antithesis of evolution.”
This is a really thought provoking nonfiction book that doubles as a love story to humanity. The author broadly covers what used to be thought about heredity, the history of scientific discoveries regarding DNA, where humans may possibly go in the future with transgenesis and genome editing, and finally, what the implications of this could mean for our species.
“Our capacity to understand and manipulate human genomes alters our conception of what it means to be “human.””
Parts of it are mind boggling, such as how early philosophers like Apollo, believed that all heredity came from the father. The father was the creator, and the mother a mere glorified incubator. I know science was primitive to nonexistent back then, but I also know some people looked remarkably similar to their mother or maternal relatives in the past, just as they do today. How easily that ludicrous argument should have been invalidated.
“She doth but nurse the seed, new-sown. The male is parent. She for him - as stranger for a stranger - just hoards the germ of life. - Apollo”
Other sections are infuriating, including how small minded authoritarians used eugenics to justify their racism and vileness. Reading what Nazi eugenicists wrote and believed in the last century so similarly echoes the ignorance that hate filled MAGA troglodytes regurgitate today that it is nauseating. Followers of this tenacious mindset blatantly reveal their idiocy due to being emboldened by their bigotry. It seems society is cursed to always have a minority block that acts as an anchor around the neck of humanity, dragging us down and holding us back.
“Junk science props up totalitarian regimes. And totalitarian regimes produce junk science.”
Speaking of bigots, science has irrefutably proven that gender and sexual orientation are predominantly determined by our genes, with other forces playing a vastly smaller role. The genetic link is significantly stronger than the influence DNA has on the propensity for type 1 diabetes, for example. People still running around in 2025 harboring asinine “thoughts” such as being gay is a choice or that certain races have better attributes than others, should really pick this book up and learn a thing or two. And remember, it is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
“Once genes had been implicated in the development of sexual preference, the gay child was instantly transformed to normal. His hateful enemies were the abnormal monsters.”
My favorite part was the ending, when the author goes all philosophical and brings up provocative considerations about what humanity may look like in the future if we start to alter our DNA. Unforeseen results could have dramatic effects and at an untold cost. It is impossible to determine if the benefits would outweigh the consequences when we don’t yet know what we don’t know.
“Perhaps even that skepticism exists somewhere in our twenty-one thousand genes. Perhaps the compassion that such skepticism enables is also encoded indelibly in the human genome. Perhaps it is part of what makes us human.”
The content was easy to understand, even for someone that has not taken a biology course in a couple of decades. The author uses analogies and real life examples to simplify explanations and writes in a literary style that prevents the topic matter from being dry. But there were a few small sections that helped me to get to sleep. I would recommend this one to anyone even remotely interested in any of the topics covered. It is an excellent read.
“In the land of the blind, the sighted man is king. But flood that land with a toxic, blinding light - and the kingdom reverts to the blind.”
---------------------
First Sentence: In the winter of 2012, I traveled from Delhi to Calcutta to visit my cousin Moni.
Favorite Quote: It should hardly surprise us that DNA, the molecule of contradictions, encodes an organism of contradictions. We seek constancy in heredity—and find its opposite: variation. Mutants are necessary to maintain the essence of our selves. Our genome has negotiated a fragile balance between counterpoised forces, pairing strand with opposing strand, mixing past and future, pitting memory against desire. It is the most human of all things that we possess. Its stewardship may be the ultimate test of knowledge and discernment for our species.
“Normalcy is the antithesis of evolution.”
This is a really thought provoking nonfiction book that doubles as a love story to humanity. The author broadly covers what used to be thought about heredity, the history of scientific discoveries regarding DNA, where humans may possibly go in the future with transgenesis and genome editing, and finally, what the implications of this could mean for our species.
“Our capacity to understand and manipulate human genomes alters our conception of what it means to be “human.””
Parts of it are mind boggling, such as how early philosophers like Apollo, believed that all heredity came from the father. The father was the creator, and the mother a mere glorified incubator. I know science was primitive to nonexistent back then, but I also know some people looked remarkably similar to their mother or maternal relatives in the past, just as they do today. How easily that ludicrous argument should have been invalidated.
“She doth but nurse the seed, new-sown. The male is parent. She for him - as stranger for a stranger - just hoards the germ of life. - Apollo”
Other sections are infuriating, including how small minded authoritarians used eugenics to justify their racism and vileness. Reading what Nazi eugenicists wrote and believed in the last century so similarly echoes the ignorance that hate filled MAGA troglodytes regurgitate today that it is nauseating. Followers of this tenacious mindset blatantly reveal their idiocy due to being emboldened by their bigotry. It seems society is cursed to always have a minority block that acts as an anchor around the neck of humanity, dragging us down and holding us back.
“Junk science props up totalitarian regimes. And totalitarian regimes produce junk science.”
Speaking of bigots, science has irrefutably proven that gender and sexual orientation are predominantly determined by our genes, with other forces playing a vastly smaller role. The genetic link is significantly stronger than the influence DNA has on the propensity for type 1 diabetes, for example. People still running around in 2025 harboring asinine “thoughts” such as being gay is a choice or that certain races have better attributes than others, should really pick this book up and learn a thing or two. And remember, it is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
“Once genes had been implicated in the development of sexual preference, the gay child was instantly transformed to normal. His hateful enemies were the abnormal monsters.”
My favorite part was the ending, when the author goes all philosophical and brings up provocative considerations about what humanity may look like in the future if we start to alter our DNA. Unforeseen results could have dramatic effects and at an untold cost. It is impossible to determine if the benefits would outweigh the consequences when we don’t yet know what we don’t know.
“Perhaps even that skepticism exists somewhere in our twenty-one thousand genes. Perhaps the compassion that such skepticism enables is also encoded indelibly in the human genome. Perhaps it is part of what makes us human.”
The content was easy to understand, even for someone that has not taken a biology course in a couple of decades. The author uses analogies and real life examples to simplify explanations and writes in a literary style that prevents the topic matter from being dry. But there were a few small sections that helped me to get to sleep. I would recommend this one to anyone even remotely interested in any of the topics covered. It is an excellent read.
“In the land of the blind, the sighted man is king. But flood that land with a toxic, blinding light - and the kingdom reverts to the blind.”
---------------------
First Sentence: In the winter of 2012, I traveled from Delhi to Calcutta to visit my cousin Moni.
Favorite Quote: It should hardly surprise us that DNA, the molecule of contradictions, encodes an organism of contradictions. We seek constancy in heredity—and find its opposite: variation. Mutants are necessary to maintain the essence of our selves. Our genome has negotiated a fragile balance between counterpoised forces, pairing strand with opposing strand, mixing past and future, pitting memory against desire. It is the most human of all things that we possess. Its stewardship may be the ultimate test of knowledge and discernment for our species.