** NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER **
The Gene is the story of one of the most powerful and dangerous ideas in our history from the author of The Emperor of All Maladies.
The story begins in an Augustinian abbey in 1856, and takes the reader from Darwin's groundbreaking theory of evolution, to the horrors of Nazi eugenics, to present day and beyond - as we learn to "read" and "write" the human genome that unleashes the potential to change the fates and identities of our children.
Majestic in its scope and ambition, The Gene provides us with a definitive account of the epic history of the quest to decipher the master-code that makes and defines humans – and paints a fascinating vision of both humanity's past and future.
For fans of Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking and Being Mortal by Atul Gwande.
'Siddhartha Mukherjee is the perfect person to guide us through the past, present, and future of genome science' Bill Gates
'A thrilling and comprehensive account of what seems certain to be the most radical, controversial and, to borrow from the subtitle, intimate science of our time...Read this book and steel yourself for what comes next' Sunday Times
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Creators
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Publisher
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Awards
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Release date
June 2, 2016 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781448181162
- File size: 1930 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781448181162
- File size: 4759 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from February 29, 2016
In skillful prose, Mukherjee, an oncologist and the Pulitzer Prizeâwinning author of The Emperor of All Maladies, relates the grand tale of how scientists have come to understand the role genes play in human development, behavior, and physiology. He deftly relates the basic scientific facts about the way genes are believed to function, while making clear the aspects of genetics that remain unknown. Mukherjee offers insight into both the scientific process and the sociology of science, exploring the crucial experiments that have shed light on the biochemical complexities inherent in the genome. He also examines many of the philosophical and moral quandaries that have long swirled around the study of genetics, addressing such important topics as eugenics, stem cell research, and what it means to use the composition of a person's genotype to make predictions about his or her health or behavior. Looking to the future, Mukherjee addresses prospects for medical advances in the treatment of diseases and in selectingâor actively craftingâthe genetic composition of offspring, regularly pointing out the pressing ethical considerations. Throughout, he repeatedly poses the question, "What is ânatural'?" declining to offer a single answer, in recognition that both context and change are essential. By relating familial information, Mukherjee grounds the abstract in the personal to add power and poignancy to his excellent narrative. -
July 25, 2016
Veteran voice actor Boutsikaris’s talents are on full display in the audio edition of the latest from oncologist and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Mukherjee. He uses vocal flexibility to stress phrases, words, and even syllables to illuminate the grand tale of how scientists have come to understand the role genes play in human development, behavior, and physiology. Boutsikaris has such control of grammatical structure that every sentence, no matter the length, is clear, and he includes frequent transitional pauses that help the listener retain focus all the way through Mukherjee’s complex but fascinating narrative, chronicling breakthroughs in the quest to understand human heredity, from the work of Darwin and Mendel to current research in the field of genetics. A Scribner hardcover.
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