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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
informative
reflective
slow-paced
An extraordinarily thorough, knowing, and exciting history of humanity's discovery of genetics, from the hypotheses of Ancient Greece through the the epiphanies of Mendel; from Nazi eugenics through Watson and Crick; from the Human Genome Project to CRISPR and beyond. Mukherjee's previous masterwork, "The Emperor of All Maladies", told the story of cancer with a mix of hard science and raw passion that lent the book an unusual power. He does the same here, alternating the larger events with an "intimate" history of his extended family and its history of inherited mental illness.
This is a long book, but no part of it feels unnecessary. The revelations and breakthroughs of genetics are every bit as otherwordly and astounding as the moon landing. And the wild unknown of its future - with technology outpacing our foresight - needs to be seriously thought through. A much recommended read for curious human beings.
This is a long book, but no part of it feels unnecessary. The revelations and breakthroughs of genetics are every bit as otherwordly and astounding as the moon landing. And the wild unknown of its future - with technology outpacing our foresight - needs to be seriously thought through. A much recommended read for curious human beings.
4.5– The first 3/4 of the book are INCREDIBLE, but the last part is a little redundant when it comes to the dangers/concerns of advancing technology. As a whole, I was left wanting to learn and know more. The author is incredible at his craft!
This book took me awhile because not only is it long, it is also dense and somewhat difficult to retain if your brain is not science minded.
This author impresses me with the ability to write about history and science, cramming a century’s worth in one book, while managing to remain engaging.
This author impresses me with the ability to write about history and science, cramming a century’s worth in one book, while managing to remain engaging.
Great ability to make science history interesting like in his other book, The Emperor of All Maladies
dark
funny
informative
medium-paced
I have never read such a detailed history of genetics and its consequences. The level of writing craft that the author has delivered here is something I have rarely read before (especially for non-fiction or scientific papers). Side note: It is indeed mainly a book that deals with the history of genetics. It is helpful if you know basic terms like allele, genome, gene, chromosome, mRNA and what they mean.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Incest, Forced institutionalization
Story of the human source code told with great literary flair. Siddhartha has the knack of observing human details in this humongous historical journey of the DNA and genetics. An absolutely wonderful read and easily recommendable.
He's rather long-winded (I don't personally care to hear about all the personal anecdotes from his extended family) and his writing style isn't my favorite (too "flowery" or something). However, the content is excellent!