In Pursuit of the Gene is far better than anything now in print for the generalist reader.Schwartz knows the literature on the history of genetics well and he is good at explaining what can sometimes be very abstruse scientific arguments clearly. Even the statistical sections are crystal clear. All of this is conveyed to the specialist reader with a light touch—while at the same time managing not to overwhelm the generalist reader.
Adam Hochschild. author of Bury the Chains and Kin Ghost
This is science for the intelligent general reader as it ought to be written and seldom is: where the scientists are flesh and blood human beings who struggle, fail, compete, rejoice, despair, go down wrong paths and finally stumble, in stages, upon a radically new way of seeing the natural world. A fascinating and readable odyssey that ranges from Texas to Holland to Stalin's prisons and reminds us how hard-won scientific knowledge is.
Janet Browne
In this sparkling and timely book James Schwartz reveals the remarkable history of the gene from its nineteenth-century origins as an entirely imaginary concept to the modern belief that life itself rests in these awe-inspiring combinations of molecules. Accurate, lively, and packed full with incident, this book is a triumph of science writing. --(Janet Browne, author of Charles Darwin: Voyaging and Charles Darwin: The Power of Place)
Elof Carlson
In Pursuit of the Gene is magnificent and captivating in its use of largely unpublished correspondence to reveal scientists as human beings with feelings, intrigue and emotions riding high. --(Elof Carlson, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus, Stony Brook University)
Matthew Meselson
Through his careful reading of original sources, many previously ignored or unknown, biologist-mathematician-science writer James Schwartz has produced a superb history of the gene and the chromosomes -- from Darwin, Galton, Mendel and the early cell-biologists up to the discovery of the DNA double helix.
--(Matthew Meselson, Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences, Harvard University)
David Altshuler
In Pursuit of the Gene is a wonderful book, and arrives at just the right time. With genetic discoveries being made on a daily basis, Schwartz's book deserves a wide readership and attention.
--(David Altshuler, Director, Broad Institute's Program in Medical and Population Genetics)
Adam Hochschild
This is science for the intelligent general reader as it ought to be written and seldom is: where the scientists are flesh and blood human beings who struggle, fail, compete, rejoice, despair, go down wrong paths and finally stumble, in stages, upon a radically new way of seeing the natural world. A fascinating and readable odyssey that ranges from Texas to Holland to Stalin's prisons and reminds us how hard-won scientific knowledge is. --(Adam Hochschild. author of Bury the Chains and King Leopold's Ghost)
Ruth Schwartz
In Pursuit of the Gene is far better than anything now in print for the generalist reader.Schwartz knows the literature on the history of genetics well and he is good at explaining what can sometimes be very abstruse scientific arguments clearly. Even the statistical sections are crystal clear. All of this is conveyed to the specialist reader with a light touch—while at the same time managing not to overwhelm the generalist reader.
--(Ruth Schwartz Cowan, Janice and Julian Bers Professor, University of Pennsylvania)
Ruth Schwartz Cowan
In Pursuit of the Gene is far better than anything now in print for the generalist reader.Schwartz knows the literature on the history of genetics well and he is good at explaining what can sometimes be very abstruse scientific arguments clearly. Even the statistical sections are crystal clear. All of this is conveyed to the specialist reader with a light touch—while at the same time managing not to overwhelm the generalist reader.
— Ruth Schwartz Cowan, Janice and Julian Bers Professor, University of Pennsylvania
