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A review by indrabindra
The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Mukherjee traces the history of genetic science from Mendel to present day CRISPR technology & pharmaceutical industry. Focus is more on individual characteristics of actors in the story while touching on the effects of discoveries and technologies on society. Very plodding.
First quarter of the book rang back first year biology courses. Methods in experiments are described in detail, but understanding function was harder to grasp, both because of the scipop similes to "everyday" affairs, and because function was not actually described in the book until it came up in chronological discoveries. A full picture is never quite in view.
I wanted this book to be more critical. The attempt at objectivity and avoiding bias resulted in a very long book that is not very interesting and not very helpful, considering the many beguiling ethical, moral, social, and political histories and implications involved in genetic sciences. Mukherjee mentions that these exist, but does not investigate them.
First quarter of the book rang back first year biology courses. Methods in experiments are described in detail, but understanding function was harder to grasp, both because of the scipop similes to "everyday" affairs, and because function was not actually described in the book until it came up in chronological discoveries. A full picture is never quite in view.
I wanted this book to be more critical. The attempt at objectivity and avoiding bias resulted in a very long book that is not very interesting and not very helpful, considering the many beguiling ethical, moral, social, and political histories and implications involved in genetic sciences. Mukherjee mentions that these exist, but does not investigate them.