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Title: The Monk in the Garden: The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics by Robin Marantz Henig ISBN: 0-618-12741-0 Publisher: Mariner Books Pub. Date: 12 May, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.8 (15 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: In the beginning . . .
Comment: It is easy to ignore Mendel. Genetics as a science is exploding with new data and ideas almost daily. And, it is not just the science that understandably captures our interest. The scientists themselves have drawn attention from biographers and historians who have churned out volumes on those working in the field today. The life and personalities of Watson and Crick, more recently Craig Venter of Celera, and others attract media notice, quite independent of their work and scientific contributions. Against contemporary practioners,the life and times of a patience, deliberative and plodding monk just can't seem to compete for air time. But, before you conclude that Mendel is the C-SPAN of genetics, read The Monk in the Garden. In this well-written and graceful volume by Robin Marantz Henig, the complexity of Mendel's life emerges fully. Fraught with insecurity; beleagured almost throughout his life by a depression that could leave him immobilized; ignored by jealous rivals: Henig's Mendel can capture the attention of contemporary readers every bit as much as the scientists currently standing on his shoulders. After all, as Henig writes, "Had he not made that start, however tentative, who can say how genetics would have begun instead -- or even when." The Monk in the Garden is worth knowing.
Rating: 5
Summary: Well worth reading
Comment: This is a such wonderful a biography of Gregor Mendel, that I was startled to see so many 2 star ratings. It is easy to read and understand even if you lack a significant scientific education.
Rather than citing just the bare facts, Robin Marantz Henig writes like a novelist. She interweaves the scientific debates before, during, and after Mendel's time with the importance of his discovery. Mendel had no model to follow, no fellow researchers to encourage him, no context into which to put his research, and no vocabulary to describe the genetics he was documenting. His paper on the subject was largely ignored... and then rediscovered 35 years later.
Perhaps Mendel got a lucky break in choosing Moravian peas because their characteristics were readily identifiable. Or perhaps it is those characteristics, seed color, seed texture, plant height, that caused him find his work.
In modern times it can be seen as rather ironic that the initial work in genetics, the work that was needed to support Darwin, was developed by a monk in a monastery. But monks were the conservers of all the great ancient works. Their monasteries contained the libraries of Europe throughout the middle ages. The monks were the literate class. St. Augustine stated that you talk to God when you pray, but God talks to you when you read. And Mendel's monastery followed Augustinian doctrine.
That quiet isolation and contemplation may also have been essential to conducting the work. Growing and recording peas does not seem stimulating. Henig writes "By the time Mendel was done with this succession of crosses, recrosses, and backcrosses, he must have counted a total of more than 10,000 plants, 40,000 blossoms, and a staggering 300,000 peas."
Mandel had fragile psyche, which was both the cause and effect of his failures. He could not pass a qualifying exam that would allow him to teach high school. His test anxiety was so great that on his second attempt, he started just one question and gave up. He would take to his bed for months at a time. He and his work were ignored while others attained fame and the respect of the scientific community. And yet, despite disappointments and lack or recognition, Mendel persevered.
This is a biography well worth reading.
Rating: 3
Summary: Light but passable overview of the founding of genetics
Comment: This breezily written biography portrays not only Mendel but also his "rediscoverers" (Hugo de Vries, Karl Correns) and the scientists (Raphael Weldon, T. H. Morgan, and especially William Bateson) who, two decades after his death, quarreled over the applicability of his now-famous findings. Readers looking for an introduction to the science itself will be disappointed, however, since the book offers only a cursory introduction.
The biography is lean, because very little is known about Mendel himself. The author resorts to imagining probable scenes from his life: "In a corner of the monastery garden, Mendel huddled myopically over rows of greening plants." "His curly brown hair thinning around his widening face, Mendel sat at the oak writing table in the orangery, where the air was warm and lushly fragrant." You either enjoy this sort of thing, or you don't--but I can report that at least Henig does not invent dialogue.
By far the more interesting part of the book is the second half, which conveys the quarrels and intrigues by which Mendel and his publications were rediscovered and illuminated by a gaggle of ego-driven scientists bent on proving each other wrong. It's fun reading, if a little disheartening, but it's nice to know that the dead man wins. Overall, "The Monk in the Garden" is a decent historical introduction to the founding of genetics, but not much more.
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Title: Gregor Mendel: Father of Genetics (Great Minds of Science) by Roger Klare ISBN: 0766018717 Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Inc. Pub. Date: July, 2001 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: The Double Helix : A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA by James D. Watson ISBN: 074321630X Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 12 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Rosalind Franklin : The Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox ISBN: 0060985089 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Gregor Mendel: And the Roots of Genetics (Oxford Portraits in Science) by Edward Edelson ISBN: 0195150201 Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr Childrens Books Pub. Date: September, 2001 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: DNA : The Secret of Life by JAMES D. WATSON, ANDREW BERRY ISBN: 0375415467 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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