In Pursuit of the Gene From Darwin to DNA

Understanding the nature of genetic inheritance was essential for evolution to be accepted as the dominant paradigm in biology. In a masterful work, science writer Schwartz looks at the science and the personalities behind that understanding, ranging from Darwin's belief in pangenesis to explain the inheritance of physical variations to Hermann Muller's Nobel Prize-winning work on X-rays and genetic mutation. Although he discusses the contributions of such luminaries as Francis Galton, William Bateson, Gregor Mendel, Hugo de Vries and Thomas Hunt Morgan, Schwartz provides far more than character sketches. In a thoroughly accessible manner, he offers insight into the critical experiments each undertook and allows readers to share the excitement of discovery. He also does a fabulous job of demonstrating the social nature of science, showing how competition often leads to unseemly actions and how the unwillingness to part with a favorite theory leads to an idiosyncratic interpretation of data. Schwartz illustrates how, despite all of this, science continues to make progress and our understanding of the world continues to grow. Although the history of genetics has been covered many times before, Schwartz brings unbridled energy, strong writing and a fresh perspective. Publishers Weekly (starred review) 20080211 Often described as a noble quest for the truth, science can also be messy and duplicitous--never more so, as this book reveals, than in the search for the key to heredity, the gene. Yet rarely has science involved such inspiring and passionate figures--Mendel, Bateson, Morgan, Muller--whose names we may recognize but whose personal tales are relatively little told. Here is the 100-year story of genetics with the setbacks and breakthroughs carefully explained, and the human story--including spells in Soviet prison camps and suicide attempts--thrillingly evoked. -- Rowan Hooper New Scientist 20080517 What distinguishes Schwartz's account is his impeccable scholarship, based on many primary sources, and his ability to keep the narrative moving, interweaving discoveries with the strong and eccentric personalities who made them...In Pursuit of the Gene should be required reading for all biologists unfamiliar with the history of genetics. Schwartz shows how quickly science can advance when a group of first-class minds encounters a fertile but unploughed field. -- Jerry A. Coyne Nature 20080626 What makes this account so novel and definitely worth reading is its fine study of character, based primarily on a sensitive reading of original documents. As a result, some of the leading well-known figures in the history of genetics come across in a very different light that leads to a rethinking of existing historical understanding. -- Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis Journal of Heredity 20091101