Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beware of "Fear of Freedom", 10 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This book has many commentaries and that supposes that it has disquieted to the readers. But, as all in Internet, the base of these commentaries corresponds overwhelmingly to English speaking readers of Protestant roots. Therefore, modestly, maybe an opinion from other side can be opportune: that of a Spanish man educated in the Catholic culture, 49 years old. I knew the dictatorship of general Franco until his death in 1975. My school, a sort of military service for children governed by religious priests was full of ignorance - also known as "Forbidden Knowledge"- as all Spain then. University was no much better. Ex- Nazi refugees, altough no great criminals, were no rare living in Spain then. Reading a Bible without censorship was difficult in my youth, and also the known of the works of almost all authors mentioned in this book. To explain the Theory of the Evolution from Darwin was virtually forbidden. Curiously, Mr. Shattuck mentions Cervantes several times, but I think he has not well understood it because, yet insane, Don Quijote, says the following phrase: "By freedom it can, and yet it should be to risk the life". Books as these, are attractive, but preoccupates me... because I have known very little knowledge and many, many prohibitions. I don't deny the value of the common sense, and we don't use all things what are invented: simply we can't. And I don't believe me a God neither nothing similar... this must be clear because -no doubt- the English God writes would be much better than mine.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Worthy, 15 Mar 1999
By A Customer
I find the concept of forbidden knowledge a profound one. Mr. Shattucks has raised some important questions, especially in relation to science and scientific resonsibility.However, I wish the "forbidden knowledge" question had been extended to the realm of psychology. That would have been thought provoking as well, especially in our hyper analyzed, over examined and obsessive age. On the whole,I found the book dry and tedious, and I finished it with difficulty.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Readable and riveting, 13 Sep 1998
By A Customer
Shattuck's prose is energetic and free of the obtuse sociological newspeak that disfigures so many other books on like topics. He is strongest (to me at least) where his expertise lies: in the analysis of literature and legends and what these are telling us about fundamental aspects of human nature. I will comment critically on the middle section of the book, where he discusses modern genetics, the area of my expertise. Shattuck understands the current state of knowledge to a degree outstanding for someone without formal training. However, he betrays his limitation by failing to point out that all our sophiscticated knowledge of human genotype, that is, the exact sequence and structure of each gene, far outstrips our understanding of what these genes exactly do. And beyond this, we have no earthly clue about how each gene interacts with other genes (there are 100,000 of them at least), and even beyond that, how these gene interactions change with age, experience, and exposure to the environment. The dangerous conceit is, that once we have the completed the Genome Project, decisions about people's lives might be made by governments and insurance companies based solely on knowledge of genotype. I believe this conceit can be avoided, and that we should push forward, but the danger ought to be acknowledged. Despite this shortcoming, I give Shattuck a five because I so thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned so much from it.
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