Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
8/10
The Gene is a sprawling history of genetics beginning with the life and ideas of early theorists such as Darwin and Mendel; the ugly turn in the early 20th century to eugenics and the abuses in totalitarian societies; the modern development of the field identifying genetic diseases and mapping the human genome; cutting edge research of gene editing and therapy; and finally a look into the future of the field with its potential to improve lives and raise ethical questions for society. Mukherjee does all this while blending medical and philosophical perspective with poignant personal anecdotes. The book does a wonderful job of balancing accessibility to someone without a background in the field with a desire to give the material proper scientific justice. There are a few places Mukherjee’s writing could some improvement (occasionally painful one-liners or ostentatious literary flourishes), but overall is very well written and I’d strongly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.
The Gene is a sprawling history of genetics beginning with the life and ideas of early theorists such as Darwin and Mendel; the ugly turn in the early 20th century to eugenics and the abuses in totalitarian societies; the modern development of the field identifying genetic diseases and mapping the human genome; cutting edge research of gene editing and therapy; and finally a look into the future of the field with its potential to improve lives and raise ethical questions for society. Mukherjee does all this while blending medical and philosophical perspective with poignant personal anecdotes. The book does a wonderful job of balancing accessibility to someone without a background in the field with a desire to give the material proper scientific justice. There are a few places Mukherjee’s writing could some improvement (occasionally painful one-liners or ostentatious literary flourishes), but overall is very well written and I’d strongly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.
I think I must have had higher expectations after his book about Cancer. I enjoyed the first 15-20% of this book when he was writing about the history of scientific discoveries, but then he switches to a long chapter on the politics of 20s-40s and that's what I find to be annoying in many non-fiction books these days. I didn't mind the parts where he tells about his own family history of mental illnesses, but sometimes they felt out of place. I was also a bit irritated by his constant jumps from one topic to another, since I was listening to the audiobook version - I sometimes kept loosing track of the chronological events.
It would be a disservice to give this book anything less than 5 stars. This book truly took me on a journey I never expected. It wasn't a science text, no pages of tables and data; it was a story told by an exceptionally accomplished teller.
Siddhartha Mukherjee is a fabulous writer who makes complicated science read like a novel. Can't wait to see what he tackles next.
informative
slow-paced
informative
If I had read this book in High School I would've understood and enjoyed biology a lot better. It's a book - together with Sapiens- that I will have my kids read later to help them understand what they are learning.
But because I didn't have this book, I don't like biology (sorry Lucci) and I just couldn't get past 75% of the book.
As my best friend once told me "life is too short and there are too many books out there to force ourselves to the end of something we don't like". With that in mind, on to the next one.
But because I didn't have this book, I don't like biology (sorry Lucci) and I just couldn't get past 75% of the book.
As my best friend once told me "life is too short and there are too many books out there to force ourselves to the end of something we don't like". With that in mind, on to the next one.
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed The Song of the Cell, I had pretty high expectations of The Gene. I was not disappointed. This was a sprawling history of genetics from Mendel through Darwin, from the catastrophic whoopsies of 20th century Eugenics to a vision of the near-future of genetic therapy for debilitating heritable diseases.
Mukherjee has a tendency to draw parallels between the content and his personal life and that conversational writing style is the spoonful of sugar that helps the subject matter go down. Easily my new favorite science communicator.
Also, the epigraphs were great.
Mukherjee has a tendency to draw parallels between the content and his personal life and that conversational writing style is the spoonful of sugar that helps the subject matter go down. Easily my new favorite science communicator.
Also, the epigraphs were great.