- Hardcover: 187 pages
- Publisher: Hutchinson; illustrated edition edition (27 Sep 1971)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0091082609
- ISBN-13: 978-0091082604
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 228,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Koestler outdoes himself yet again! While biographies of scientists oftend tend towards the dull, this is a complete opposite. It is written with a sufficient understanding of the science behind it, as well as the conflicts occuring in the field of evolutionary biology at the time (Darwinism vs. Lamarckism). On top of that the character of Paul Kammerer comes to light extremely vivdly and good humour is present throughout the book.
So even though the topic of how various amphybians inherit their characteristics might not be to everyone's taste, the biography reads more like an extremely well researched crime novel and there is much current writers of biographies could learn from this spectacular example of excellence in the field!
So even though the topic of how various amphybians inherit their characteristics might not be to everyone's taste, the biography reads more like an extremely well researched crime novel and there is much current writers of biographies could learn from this spectacular example of excellence in the field!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
A work on the politics of evolutionary theory.
15 April 1998
Format:Hardcover
Arthur Koestler has distinguished himself with this fine work, which recounts the scientific research of Paul Kammerer on evolution and its impact on the scientific community of the time. Kammerer's laboratory experiments appeared to reinforce the discredited Lamarckian theory which preceded Darwin's. This book provides fascinating insights into the politics of science, and the consequences of challenging scientific orthodoxy. Koestler paints a poignant yet uncommitted picture of the consequences Kammerer's experiments had on his professional and personal life.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
synchronicity
26 Dec 2001
Format:Hardcover
The other reviewers commented on the main subject of this book - the question of inheritance. However, the Appendix has a fascinating account of Kammerer's work on serial coincidence, of "like and like" happening together. Kammerer spent long walks observing people and things, and determined that similar events happen together. For example, in one of his files he notes, two soldiers, both 19 years old, both born in Silesia, both volunteers in the transport corps, both admitted to the same hospital in 1915, both victims of pneumonia, and both named Franz Richter. He found lots of these coincidences, and claimed that this is the way the world is structured. In fact, these are not coincidences, but evidence of "The Law of the Series." Sounds weird, but he took this seriously. The Appendix in The Case of the Mid Wife Toad gives an account of this bizarre research project of Paul Kammerer.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
An excellent book about how science gets done.
8 July 1997
Format:Paperback
This little gem by well-known novelist Arthur
Koestler is a biography of a biologist who claims
to have produced evidence that acquired
characteristics can be inherited. The
story is well written, and leaves the reader
enough leeway to form their own opinion on the
validity of the science involved. The claims
of inheritance are as heretical to biologists as
the claims of Robert Gentry in his book
_Creation's Tiny Mystery_ are to geologists. I
would strongly recommend both books to anyone
interested in the way scientists interact with
each other, and with the political forces which
influence their funding and publication.
Koestler is a biography of a biologist who claims
to have produced evidence that acquired
characteristics can be inherited. The
story is well written, and leaves the reader
enough leeway to form their own opinion on the
validity of the science involved. The claims
of inheritance are as heretical to biologists as
the claims of Robert Gentry in his book
_Creation's Tiny Mystery_ are to geologists. I
would strongly recommend both books to anyone
interested in the way scientists interact with
each other, and with the political forces which
influence their funding and publication.
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