The Gene: An Intimate History in Bio-Nerds

May 09, 2016 Charlene rated it really liked it

Shelves: constructs, evolution, biology

Siddhartha Mukherjee dove deep into the history of the gene and provided and extremely thorough account of the various associated discovery that have occurred since Darwin's day. This book is heavy on the history, and semi light on the science. Each discovery is detailed, but the science involved is related in a manner that is accessible to the nonscientists.

One thing I found curious was his discussion of Lamarck. Recently I finished reading Survival of the Sickest, but Sharon Moalem, in which ...more

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Apr 27, 2016 Madhur rated it it was amazing

Shelves: life-sciences, favorites

The Gene is a magisterial account of transitions from a missing science of heredity to the post-genomic era. It is divided into six chronologically ordered sections:
1. Missing science of heredity (1865-1935), is about the discovery and rediscovery of genes by majorly featuring Mendel, Darwin and Galton 2. In the sum of the parts there are only the parts (1930-1970), describes the events leading to unveil the mechanism of inheritance 3. The Dream of Geneticists (1970-2001), explores the sequencin ...more

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Sep 11, 2018 Patricia rated it it was amazing

I think this is one of the best and most informative books I have read on the topics he covered. I may read it again if I live long enough. Today I started his earlier book on cancer which won a Pulizer prize. I appreciate the back stories of historical figures and how they came into science and worked together over decades to solve riddles . I also appreciate the depth of personal sharing Mukharjee gives the reader regarding his family history of schizophrenia and mania...he grew up with uncles ...more

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May 30, 2016 Tania Chakraborty rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, biology, i-own-it, will-read-again, science-non-fiction-books

I went into this book with a lot of expectations. Everyone else too, I assume. When you win a Pulitzer for your first book, people have a certain level of expectation from you.
And Dr. Mukherjee fulfilled it.
The history of genetics is a fascinating one and being a biology grad student, I had several papers on this in my curriculum. But they were never half as beautifully written as this one. This one is detailed, intricate and enthralling.
There has been a lot of debate around the epigenetics pa ...more

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Jun 18, 2017 Cindy rated it it was amazing

Very engaging story of the history of the gene. Understandable to almost any reader who has had some biology classes. The author weaves together stories from his family as well as vignettes of others who have suffered from genetically-related diseases to illustrate the role and potential of genetic research. He also brings to the fore the moral and ethical issues of gene manipulation, issues that need broad discussion in the general population. What science can do, will be done... eventually. Wh ...more

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