The Gene: An Intimate History
As seen:
By Siddhartha Mukherjee, and and,
avg rating
2 reviews
Spanning the globe and several centuries, The Gene is the story of the quest to decipher the master-code that makes and defines humans, that governs our form and function.
The story of the gene begins in an obscure Augustinian abbey in Moravia in 1856 where a monk stumbles on the idea of a ‘unit of heredity’. It intersects with Darwin’s theory of evolution, and collides with the horrors of Nazi eugenics in the 1940s. The gene transforms post-war biology. It reorganizes our understanding of sexuality, temperament, choice and free will. This is a story driven by human ingenuity and obsessive minds – from Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel to Francis Crick, James Watson and Rosalind Franklin, and the thousands of scientists still working to understand the code of codes.
Majestic in its ambition, and unflinching in its honesty, The Gene gives us a definitive account of the fundamental unit of heredity – and a vision of both humanity’s past and future.
TweetReviews
Woodlands Pop-up Book Club were lucky enough to be sent free copies of this book. It is our first non-fiction title. Not solely science, but combining history and memoir, it tells the story of the fascinating characters and strange coincidences involved in the science of genetics in an entertaining and informative way. The theory is well explained for a lay person, and does not disturb the flow of events. I expected this from a geneticist and cancer researcher. I was not prepared for the beauty and elegance of the writing. I would also recommend this book to readers who don’t usually venture into non-fiction. It was a lovely surprise.
"This book has allowed me to hold forth for a good 10 minutes on all the issues surrounding the recent gene editing discussions in the news to my husband. Who regarded me with a (brief) look of awe I haven’t seen for 15 years. Recommended for that alone. This is an engaging and humane treatment of the subject, which by its nature can be incredibly specific and detailed. The author extrapolates well and helps to give broader explanations that this non-scientist appreciated. I also appreciate that the author neither skirts the horrors of eugenics across the world in the last hundred years nor dwells on the horrors of the Nazi/Mengele experiments."
"Perhaps I’m biased as I’ve read Mukherjee’s Pulitzer Prize winning first book The Emperor of All Maladies, which I found a thoroughly engrossing read – so when it came time to read The Gene I was already completely sold before having read any of it. This is a book as much about humanity and history, as it is about hard science. The Gene tells the history of human’s discovery of the gene and what we believed before and since this momentous discovery. Mukherjee is a compelling storyteller, explaining complex genetics in a way that is both understandable while not being condescending. The history of science and the scientists who have shaped our world are fascinating characters in their own right, odd and idiosyncratic and awe-inspiringly intelligent (or not, in some cases!)."
"A personal look into nature/nurture and mental health and a very brave one as there is still so much stigma about mental health to be faced. However I think that those looking for something accessible will be put off by the length and those looking for the science will be put off by the personal. It is incredibly long."
