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win_monroe 's review for:
The Gene: An Intimate History
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.