"The stresses caused by the rapid growth of biological knowledge
and capability will sorely test democratic societies in the coming
decades. A first step in coping with these strains must involve
expanding the discussion of the issues and the pace of change
beyond the tiny circle of biologists and businesspeople now
involved. Enter Rabinow and Dan-Cohen, whose investigations of
Celera Diagnostics, a company at the forefront of research in human
genetic differences, open the concepts, practices, and institutions
of this revolutionary world to broader public scrutiny. Imagine if
Tracy Kidder had written "The Soul of a New Machine" about a
genomic diagnostics company, and informed it with deep, scholarly
insight into science, business, and leadership, and you begin to
get the scope of this book."--Dr. Roger Brent, Director and
President of The Molecular Sciences Institute
"This fascinating book opens up a huge number of questions about
how social scientists, anthropologists, or science studies
practitioners write about science, scientists, technology, and
innovation. It offers some of the most sophisticated and detailed
accounts to date of the complexity, serendipity, and
unpredictability of the very kinds of scientific innovation that
are often described as being deliberately planned to serve specific
interests or normative values. It is packed with very original
data, its analytical style and argument are very provocative, and
it makes a very timely contribution to the field. I have never read
anything like it."--Sarah Franklin, author of "Embodied Progress: A
Cultural Account of Assisted Conception"
"This impressive book provides an accessible, frank,
behind-the-scenes look atwhat is really likely from the much-hyped
hope-inspiring mapping of the genome. Led by the brilliant
questioning and set pieces Rabinow and Dan-Cohen have devised, the
reader gains, on the one hand, a heartening view of collective
scientific talent, ingenuity, and cunning at work. On the other
hand, through their interviews the authors show what is really
different about this work of scientists--the talented work under
the shadow of the profit motive, risk, opportunity, markets, and
the brutality, sometimes, of the verdicts of their capitalist
patrons. All of this is ingeniously explored in this chronicle, in
an involving and engaging way. I gained much from reading it both
as an anthropologist and as a middle-aged general reader, like many
others, interested in the imminent promise of genetics for medical
care."--George Marcus, Rice University, author of "Ethnography
through Thick and Thin"
""A Machine to Make a Future" is an insightful and creative
contribution to the literature--both scholarly and journalistic--on
contemporary genomics. By 'experimenting' with narrative genre, the
authors hope to generate different insights into the world of
genomics and biotechnology than ones generally presented in
existing accounts. They succeed at that goal, providing an account
that is ethnographically rich and analytically open to a world
whose structure, implications, and outcomes are very much in the
making."--Nadia Abu El-Haj, Barnard College, author of "Facts on
the Ground"
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
