The gene : an intimate history
(Book)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published
New York : Scribner, 2016.
Edition
First Scribner hardcover edition.
Physical Desc
xi, 592 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm
Appears on list
Status
Main Level - Nonfiction
616.042 MUKHERJEE
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Published
New York : Scribner, 2016.
Format
Book
Edition
First Scribner hardcover edition.
Language
English

Notes

Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 551-554) and index.
Description
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author draws on his scientific knowledge and research to describe the magisterial history of a scientific idea, the quest to decipher the master-code of instructions that makes and defines humans; that governs our form, function, and fate; and that determines the future of our children. The story of the gene begins in earnest in an obscure Augustinian abbey in Moravia in 1856 where Gregor Mendel, a monk working with pea plants, 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 postwar biology. It invades discourses concerning race and identity and provides startling answers to some of the most potent questions coursing through our political and cultural realms. It reorganizes our understanding of sexuality, gender identity, sexual orientation, temperament, choice, and free will, thus raising the most urgent questions affecting our personal realms. Above all, the story of the gene is driven by human ingenuity and obsessive minds--from Mendel and Darwin to Francis Crick, James Watson, and Rosalind Franklin to the thousands of scientists working today to understand the code of codes. Woven through the book is the story of Mukherjee's own family and its recurring pattern of schizophrenia, a haunting reminder that the science of genetics is not confined to the laboratory but is vitally relevant to everyday lives. The moral complexity of genetics reverberates even more urgently today as we learn to "read" and "write" the human genome--unleashing the potential to change the fates and identities of our children and our children's children.--Adapted from dust jacket.

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Mukherjee, S. (2016). The gene: an intimate history (First Scribner hardcover edition.). Scribner.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Mukherjee, Siddhartha. 2016. The Gene: An Intimate History. Scribner.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Mukherjee, Siddhartha. The Gene: An Intimate History Scribner, 2016.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Mukherjee, Siddhartha. The Gene: An Intimate History First Scribner hardcover edition., Scribner, 2016.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.