Under The Microscope

IN THE BLOOD, by Steve Jones, HarperCollins 1996; 301 pp; $24.95

Reviewed by Mike Dickison

Steve Jones is a sparse, pithy writer, unlike Steven Jay Gould, and would never quote baseball players or Thomas Jefferson to make a point. They have little in common in their attitudes towards genetic compulsion and free will either, as Jones' last book Language of the Genes demonstrated.

In The Blood, written to accompany a BBC TV series we'll probably never see here, is an extended exploration of genetics as destiny, looking at historical approaches to descent and relatedness, and what it means for a trait to be "in the blood". Jones uses colourful subjects to illustrate his points, both literally and metaphorically. He touches on Mormons, Armageddon, and the Lost Tribes of Israel, as well as the Bell Curve, inbreeding, the history of the electric chair, and (at some length) Native American casinos. The science is high quality, mostly covered in technical sidebars on cancer, gene mapping, organ rejection, melanin, and so on.

The book shows its TV roots in having more breadth than depth though, and sometimes Jones' argument is hard to make out amidst the anecdotes. What does emerge, in addition to the discussion on supposed "inborn destiny", is a contrast between scientific and religious modes of explanation, made explicit in the introduction, where the always quotable Jones compares them to a shark and a tiger. Each is invincible on its own territory, and helpless on its opponent's. But -- and here's the kicker -- the "ocean of ignorance" is shrinking.

Mike Dickison is a research associate in the Philosophy of Biology at Victoria University.