杏吧原创

YOU can鈥檛 fault Richard Kowles on his ambition. His book covers a huge amount of ground, from the basics of heredity and sex determination to plant breeding and sideshow freaks. He visits the big questions 鈥� nature versus nurture, free will 鈥� and makes forays into controversial territory including race, intelligence and creationism. What鈥檚 more, Kowles, a distinguished geneticist, is a knowledgeable guide. The trouble is, he has no sense of direction.

The chapters are all over the place. Kowles happily jumps from 鈥淲omen in the Olympics鈥� to 鈥淢arrying your cousin鈥�, feeling no compunction to make a connection. More disorientating still, he regularly meanders back over already charted territory and his voice veers between colloquial and didactic. While his desire to educate is commendable, I can鈥檛 help feeling he needs a good editor.