Under The Microscope

THE LANGUAGE OF THE GENES, by Steve Jones; Flamingo/Collins 1994; 348pp; $19.95

THE BOOK OF MAN, by Walter Bodmer and Robin McKie; Little, Brown & Co/Penguin 1994; 260 pp; $

The Language of the Genes is one of the most literate and intelligent books on our genetic heritage which I have encountered, exploring the relationship between genetics, language and human social development.

It's fascinating to see where these factors all come together to explain certain facets of humanity and human behaviour. An 800-year-old English settlement in Wales, for example, still maintains verbal and blood group differences from those of their indigenous neighbours.

It is pleasing to see that Jones is not afraid to discuss the early use and abuse of genetics, where well-meaning and not-so-well-meaning enthusiasts attempted to use the new science for social purposes. At its most benign, it produced more useful varieties of plants and animals; at its worst, it led to the eugenic horrors of Nazi Germany with mass sterilisations and a delusionary mass superiority. These are lessons which we would do well to remember when confronted with the on-going implications of molecular biology.

This book's genesis in the BBC Reith radio lectures is obvious, as there are no diagrams, graphics or photos to relieve the text. Fortunately there are only a few areas where such would have been helpful --  Jones's writing is more than lucid enough to hold the attention.

For once, I would've appreciated a more academic approach to notes and sources. The book does have a general bibliography tagged to the various chapters, but it's frustrating to have an intriguing assertion or observation made with little indication as to the source of the information and, hence, no way of finding out more. And Jones does leave you wanting more.

So does Bodmer and McKie in The Book of Man, but more because you're left with the feeling that the book hasn't quite come to grips with its central aim of backgrounding the science of the Human Genome Project.

Although no fan of political correctness, I found the title irritating and even more irritating the authors' weak attempt to justify their choice by an appeal to dictionary authority. That aside, this volume provides a useful follow-on from Jones's book, dealing as it does with modern genetic studies and technological development. It does achieve its final aim of encouraging "DNA literacy", although in a more pedestrian fashion than that of the lyrical Mr Jones.

Vicki Hyde, NZSM

Vicki Hyde is the editor of New Zealand Science Monthly.