by Evelyn Fox Keller
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Product Description
In a book that promises to change the way we think and talk about genes and genetic determinism, Evelyn Fox Keller, one of our most gifted historians and philosophers of science, provides a powerful, profound analysis of the achievements of genetics and molecular biology in the twentieth century, the century of the gene. Not just a chronicle of biology's progress from gene to genome in one hundred years, The Century of the Gene also calls our attention to the surprising ways these advances challenge the familiar picture of the gene most of us still entertain. Keller shows us that the very successes that have stirred our imagination have also radically undermined the primacy of the gene--word and object--as the core explanatory concept of heredity and development. She argues that we need a new vocabulary that includes concepts such as robustness, fidelity, and evolvability. But more than a new vocabulary, a new awareness is absolutely crucial: that understanding the components of a system (be they individual genes, proteins, or even molecules) may tell us little about the interactions among these components. With the Human Genome Project nearing its first and most publicized goal, biologists are coming to realize that they have reached not the end of biology but the beginning of a new era. Indeed, Keller predicts that in the new century we will witness another Cambrian era, this time in new forms of biological thought rather than in new forms of biological life.
Amazon.com Review
We've been under the spell of DNA for too long. Science historian and MacArthur Fellow Evelyn Fox Keller makes the case for radically new thinking about the nature of heredity in The Century of the Gene. This short, magisterial treatise examines 100 years of genetic thinking and finds outdated elements of Victorian beliefs still permeating our scientific writing. Despite compelling evidence that cytoplasmic and other nonchromosomal factors play important roles in development and even in the inheritance of traits, most discussion still relies on the master-slave (or manager-worker) relationship between the nucleus and the cell. Keller wants to move on; her proximate goal is to proceed from talking about genes to talking about genetic talk, the better to understand our biases. Her excitement at developments such as the Human Genome Project, despite her initial doubts, is only heightened by the prospect of vast stretches of uncharted intellectual territory. Ultimately, of course, her program matches that of the scientific enterprise--to more fully understand ourselves and our world. What comes after The Century of the Gene? It's an excellent question, and one that can only be answered once we leave behind the baggage of the past. --Rob Lightner
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Average Customer Review:
6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
 wishful thinking disguised as history of science, 2006-03-28
This book should be titled something like, " the decline of the gene, and good riddance too". It's really just a potted and rather one-sided historical sketch of some events in the development of genetics. The author figures these stories will help her case against the idea that that there are genes for traits which act independent of the role of the environment and in just about any environment. Since this is something no one really believes, its hard to understand what her beef with the gene really is.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
 Interesting historical review of the gene concept, 2002-03-20
This is a very concise and readable historical review of the gene concept from its origins in the nineteenth century to the live debate which is taking place now due to some fascinating work done by cutting edge contemporary researchers. Keller is an excellent writer and a thought provoking thinker. Her analysis is thorough but easily accessible by anyone with a high school knowledge of the biological sciences. It's not ground breaking philosophy of science but it's a refreshing change from the kind of superficial analysis of this trendy issue provided by the mass media. An excellent weekend read for the thirsty mind.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 What is a gene, anyway?, 2001-12-05
An excellent introduction to its subject. The book provides a clear explanation of the idea of the gene and how genes "work". I particularly like the focus on the history of genetics, showing how the research inspired by the fruitful idea of the 'gene' leads us to the conclusion that the very concept has outlived its time. The importance of issues involving genetics--biotechnology, explanations of 'genetic' differences among people, patents on life forms, etc.--require the average citizen to make a little effort to understand the science involved. This book provides a good introduction to those issues and to some of the complexities. For example, if genes don't exist, then what are private companies trying to patent? The book is a short, accessible window on some of these questions.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Rethinking the Dominance of Genes, 2001-10-15
It is quite telling that shortly after this book's release, the scientific community was humbled by the relevation that the human genome is made up of about 1/3 the number of genes previously thought. Keller deconstructs the very notion of a thing called a gene, and instead presents to us a molecular world where vast networks of processs interact to produce the phenomena convenionally attributed to genes.Even better, she presents her critique within a historical context that allows the reader to see how the current myopic model of gene primacy came to be, and how information conflicting with that model has very gradually moved from the periphery toward the center of mainstream genetics research. Overall, I found the book to be well-written and sobering with respect to the parade of biological and behavioral attributes and conditions attributed to these things called genes.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Beyond the Gene Myth, 2001-06-28
An interesting capsule view of the history of genetics and a penetrating discussion of the gene myth as it emerged, persisted, and then foundered in a more complex reality. The exploding field of genomics, and bioinformatics has left our perceptions a decade behind, and we are only beginning to 'come to' and realize we are in a different world of biology. Gene regulation, and the evolution of evolvability have to a large extent confounded one aspect of the standard Darwinian view, and we are confronted by a new bio-computational reality that leaves even our sense of the computer on the junk heap of primitive machines. A good reality check but the passage into the new worlds of DNA should induce courage to state the obvious inadequacy of Darwin's natural selection. Darwin seems incongruous at this point.
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