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Title details for The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee - Available

The Gene

An Intimate History

by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Dennis Boutsikaris
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
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2 of 2 copies available

*Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2016*
The Gene is the story of one of the most powerful and dangerous ideas in our history, from bestselling, prize-winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee.
Spanning the globe and several centuries, The Gene is the story of the quest to decipher the master-code that makes and defines humans, that governs our form and function.
The story of the gene begins in an obscure Augustinian abbey in Moravia in 1856 where a monk 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 post-war biology. It reorganizes our understanding of sexuality, temperament, choice and free will. This is a story driven by human ingenuity and obsessive minds – from Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel to Francis Crick, James Watson and Rosalind Franklin, and the thousands of scientists still working to understand the code of codes.
This is an epic, moving history of a scientific idea coming to life, by the author of The Emperor of All Maladies. But woven through The Gene, like a red line, is also an intimate history – the story of Mukherjee's own family and its recurring pattern of mental illness, reminding us that genetics is vitally relevant to everyday lives. These concerns reverberate 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.
Majestic in its ambition, and unflinching in its honesty, The Gene gives us a definitive account of the fundamental unit of heredity – and a vision of both humanity's past and future.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    June 2, 2016

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781473546677
      • File size: 557699 KB
      • Duration: 19:21:52

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Listeners will enjoy an in-depth listen about genetics and the experimental breakthroughs that took place in the field throughout history. As cancer physician and Pulitzer Prize Winner (EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES) Siddhartha Mukherjee explains why all these stories are both fascinating and valuable, he illuminates how genes influence the world. Narrator Dennis Boutsikaris captures the passion that fueled the extensive research involved and makes Mukherjee's sharing of his family's medical history more personable and important. With a reflective tone that is never pretentious or dull, a thorough profile of the gene is formally presented. Recent advancements in gene research, the ethics involved, and the manipulations the future may hold are intelligibly and skillfully expressed, complementing both the subject and author. D.Z. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      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.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      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.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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