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A review by teaandlibri
The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
2.0
Tries to do too many things at once. Although I have 'The Emperor of All Maladies' I have not yet read it. But after hearing this book was on its way and managing to snag a copy relatively quickly I thought I'd just go ahead and read it while I had it and hold off on 'Emperor'.
Unfortunately it wasn't worth the wait. The book purports to be a look at the gene and our genetic information. How we discovered the gene, the implications of its discovery and what we can do as technology marches on plus a bit of his own family history and what genetics can mean for a family.
Instead the book is far too ambitious. It's a history, it's commentary, it's a family portrait, etc. If you have information on the history of the gene, evolution, etc. then you'll probably find some of the information repetitive. It's been awhile since I've had this and I did learn a bit. But as some reviewers note: as a non-science inclined person and being distant from that information as I've been out of school for awhile made this an extremely tough read. It needed better editing and I occasionally got the impression the author was a little too bogged down with the details and/or a bit too in love with his own writing.
In all honesty I found the parts concerning Mukherjee's family the most compelling. I enjoy when an author can tie this to personal experience and it also probably helped that I have some similar experiences and have had some of the same questions he had, especially towards the end when asking about how events affect his family and how things might have been different if certain scientific advances had been made sooner or if his family members had been born later. It appears I am a bit of an outlier in this as from other reviews most people didn't seem to enjoy that.
If you're a science/biology-inclined individual this could be a great read. I hesitate a bit on this rating because in some ways I thought this book actually shared some of the same problems of another book I just read with too much information and not enough editing. I think interest in the particular subject will also play a big part. The writing is a bit dense but the subject matter might be enough for some to get them to read it.
I borrowed it from the library and I'm glad I did. Put it on your list but don't feel bad if you have awhile to wait. It's not a must-read-right-now type of book. But I'll still check out his 'Emperor' since reviews that were down on this book said that book was much better.
Unfortunately it wasn't worth the wait. The book purports to be a look at the gene and our genetic information. How we discovered the gene, the implications of its discovery and what we can do as technology marches on plus a bit of his own family history and what genetics can mean for a family.
Instead the book is far too ambitious. It's a history, it's commentary, it's a family portrait, etc. If you have information on the history of the gene, evolution, etc. then you'll probably find some of the information repetitive. It's been awhile since I've had this and I did learn a bit. But as some reviewers note: as a non-science inclined person and being distant from that information as I've been out of school for awhile made this an extremely tough read. It needed better editing and I occasionally got the impression the author was a little too bogged down with the details and/or a bit too in love with his own writing.
In all honesty I found the parts concerning Mukherjee's family the most compelling. I enjoy when an author can tie this to personal experience and it also probably helped that I have some similar experiences and have had some of the same questions he had, especially towards the end when asking about how events affect his family and how things might have been different if certain scientific advances had been made sooner or if his family members had been born later. It appears I am a bit of an outlier in this as from other reviews most people didn't seem to enjoy that.
If you're a science/biology-inclined individual this could be a great read. I hesitate a bit on this rating because in some ways I thought this book actually shared some of the same problems of another book I just read with too much information and not enough editing. I think interest in the particular subject will also play a big part. The writing is a bit dense but the subject matter might be enough for some to get them to read it.
I borrowed it from the library and I'm glad I did. Put it on your list but don't feel bad if you have awhile to wait. It's not a must-read-right-now type of book. But I'll still check out his 'Emperor' since reviews that were down on this book said that book was much better.