In Pursuit of the Gene: From Darwin to DNA

by James Schwartz

The mystery of inheritance has captivated thinkers since antiquity, and the unlocking of this mystery—the development of classical genetics—is one of humanity’s greatest achievements. This great scientific and human drama is the story told fully and for the first time in this book. Acclaimed science writer James Schwartz presents the history of genetics through the eyes of a dozen or so central players, beginning with Charles Darwin and ending with Nobel laureate Hermann J. Muller. In tracing the emerging idea of the gene, Schwartz deconstructs many often-told stories that were meant to reflect glory on the participants and finds that the “official” version of discovery often hides a far more complex and illuminating narrative. The discovery of the structure of DNA and the more recent advances in genome science represent the culmination of one hundred years of concentrated inquiry into the nature of the gene. Schwartz’s multifaceted training as a mathematician, geneticist, and writer enables him to provide a remarkably lucid account of the development of the central ideas about heredity, and at the same time bring to life the brilliant and often eccentric individuals who shaped these ideas. In the spirit of the late Stephen Jay Gould, this book offers a thoroughly engaging story about one of the oldest and most controversial fields of scientific inquiry. It offers readers the background they need to understand the latest findings in genetics and those still to come in the search for the genetic basis of complex diseases and traits.

Genres: Science, History Of Science, Biology, Nonfiction, History

384 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2008

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my fellow grad students for our summer "beers and books" reading group, and it was quite enjoyable. Schwartz does a good job balancing fairly in depth description of the history of experiments in the budding field of genetics with amusing biographical sketches of the great scientific minds who did the work. Even having read a fair bit of history of science surrounding this period of time, I learned new things. It certainly made me want to read a biography of Muller, who it turns out, was quite the badass.

In a few places the text skims over important details about certain aspects of the genetics being described. While this might not be noticed by the average reader, unless your specific subfield happens to involve reading a lot of fruit fly genetics papers, it can leave a more educated reader wondering. It was nice being able to discuss it with colleagues who have this exact expertise, and made the reading experience that much better.
I think that I would only really recommend this book to someone with at least a decent high school level background in biology, preferably some undergraduate study. Or maybe someone who is a very well-read layperson... It's not the most "popular" of popular science books, no matter how it was marketed. It's much more of a history of science text, appropriate for study in school.

[Bryan Richard]

A very interesting book on genetics. In school biology was a fav class. This book also talks about eugenics, creating the perfect person. Enjoyed it very much.