Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: It Ain't Necessarily So : The Dream of the Human Genome and Other Illusions by Richard C. Lewontin ISBN: 0-940322-10-2 Publisher: New York Review of Books Pub. Date: February, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (8 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent...
Comment: First, the only reason this book gets four stars instead of five is because of the 'book review' format, and as book reviews the essays largely fail. As counteractive theoretical essays, however, they are insightful, scathing, and thorough. A friend of mine wanted to reread "The Selfish Gene" because it's a perennial favorite of humanities snobs, now I'll direct her to this text first.
This book deals much more with the philosophical implications authors imply in their texts than the actual Science, but has enough Science to placate those looking for basic information on genetics, etc. Lewontin's humble and witty approach is welcoming, and his thought process is enjoyable. His 'tell it like it is' approach to issues like Social Darwinism and the Human Genome Project are worth reading, especially for people relegated outside the physical and natural sciences who may be unaware of these perspectives. (Especially those who infrequently read Science texts and are consequently doomed to linger in outdated material).
The key strength of this text lies in its challenging other arguments, which is often stronger than texts with centralized theses. Because of Lewontin's critical authority, he is freer from the ideological rampages that blind many of the authors he addresses. My favorite sections of the text were the 'exchanges,' where authors wrote in to the magazine criticizing Lewontin and he responds. For the reviewer here who rebuked Lewontin for his simple approach to complex problems or his philosophical leaning, note that often those letters he responds to are written by the authors of the books he derides. If he has missed 'the point' that they were forwarding, it is addressed there, and if he has not and you see other discrepancies than you've one upped the authors and should look for more sophisticated arguments anyway. After all, if you can't adequately defend your own work against 'paltry' arguments, how strong is it in the first place?
This text's subject matter is broad and marvelously entertaining. Read up!
Rating: 4
Summary: Good insights on diverse themes
Comment: First of all, let me say I feel a special admiration for Richard Lewontin. I believe he is a really smart man and always has an interesting point of view and lots of knowledge to sustain his opinions. This short collection of Reviews he wrote in The New York Review of Books undoubtly endorse my personal opinion on the author. I really recommend this book to anyone with some background on genetics, evolution and biology who wants to enrich his (hers) personal opinion on diverse themes in this subjects. I did not gave this book 5 stars because the reviews contained in it are not new. Although he writes some stuff at the end of his reviews in an attempt to update them, I believe that if he was to write them again, today, he might have changed (maybe, just maybe) a great deal of them. I think Richard Lewontin has more interesting things to say about this themes today than 12 or 20 years ago. He certainly has grown in knowledge and surely has mature his ideas with time and scientific enrichment. Just because he could have gave us more I did not give him 5 stars.
Rating: 3
Summary: Which gene generated this book?
Comment: A collection of disparate essays is an elusive target for a reviewer. The range of topics here is wide and of varying quality. With essays ranging from IQ testing through the Darwinian revolution to the Human Genome Project and cloning, Lewontin is able to declaim his own expertise in whichever subject he approaches. As with most New York Review of Books authors, he's witty and cleverly subtle when assaulting those authors or ideas he's contesting; passionately assertive in support. When you've finished the review, however, you're often left with little foundation for deciding whether you should buy that particular book for yourself. The usual reaction is wishing to run out and find all the other sources he refers to for confirming information.
The only consistent theme in this compilation is that of the iconoclast. Chipping away at perceived flaws in other people is a Lewontin specialty. He has favoured targets, such as Richard Dawkins and Philip Rushton, are frequently mentioned. A glaring omission, particularly in the updating Epilogue to "Darwin's Revolution", is that of Daniel C. Dennett's DARWIN'S DANGEROUS IDEA. Given Dennett's scathing critique of The Spandrels of San Marco, co-authored by Lewontin and Stephen Gould, the oversight surprises.
The most engaging sections of the book are essays on the Human Genome Project, genetics and cloning. In an effort to undercut scientists like E.O. Wilson or Richard Dawkins, Lewontin attempts to restrict DNA's role to 'the stupid molecule' it was once considered. Using every verbal trick available, he writes a lawyer's brief against the Project and its supporters. Stripping away nearly every function DNA performs and removing it from its environment, he leaves the reader wondering if 'the stupid molecule' is worth the funding. Like many others, Lewontin knows The Human Genome Project isn't a scientific enterprise, but a business one. He's correct in that assessment, but his hidden agenda remains shrouded. Lewontin is terrified that once the genome has been mapped and better understood, this Agassiz Research Professor will discover that human beings aren't the divinely placed species he and many others would like us to be. Because he can think about so many esoteric subjects and salamanders can't [or at least can't express those thoughts], it follows that we're elevated above the other animals instead of simply different. Lewontin is a tenured human and demotion holds no appeal. He's not alone in that, which is why his books sell.
The book needs an index. There are simply too many topics and names running through this collection for either Lewontin nor The New York Review to be excused for this lack. In a time of electronic word processing the omission is unforgivable. A bibliography of recommended readings would also be a benefit. If he took the trouble to update his opinions, he could have helped the reader along with supporting information. Not an approach one would admire in an academic.
 |
Title: The Triple Helix: Gene, Organism, and Environment by Richard C. Lewontin ISBN: 0674006771 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: Biology as Ideology : Doctrine of DNA, The by Richard C. Lewontin ISBN: 0060975199 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 13 January, 1993 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
 |
Title: The Ontogeny of Information: Developmental Systems and Evolution by Susan Oyama, Richard C. Lewontin ISBN: 0822324660 Publisher: Duke Univ Pr (Txt) Pub. Date: May, 2000 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
 |
Title: The Dialectical Biologist by Richard Levins, Richard C. Lewontin ISBN: 067420283X Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: March, 1987 List Price(USD): $26.50 |
 |
Title: Not in Our Genes by Rose Lewontin ISBN: 0394728882 Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 12 February, 1985 List Price(USD): $18.15 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
