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J. B. S. Haldane's life was rich and strange, never short on genius
or drama-from his boyhood apprenticeship to his scientist father,
who first instilled in him a devotion to the scientific method; to
his time in the trenches during the First World War, where he wrote
his first scientific paper; to his numerous experiments on himself,
including inhaling dangerous levels of carbon dioxide and drinking
hydrochloric acid; to his clandestine research for the British
Admiralty during the Second World War. He is best remembered as a
geneticist who revolutionized our understanding of evolution, but
his peers hailed him as a polymath. One student called him "the
last man who might know all there was to be known." He foresaw in
vitro fertilization, peak oil, and the hydrogen fuel cell, and his
contributions ranged over physiology, genetics, evolutionary
biology, mathematics, and biostatistics. He was also a staunch
Communist, which led him to Spain during the Civil War and sparked
suspicions that he was spying for the Soviets. He wrote copiously
on science and politics in newspapers and magazines, and he gave
speeches in town halls and on the radio-all of which made him, in
his day, as famous in Britain as Einstein. It is the duty of
scientists to think politically, Haldane believed, and he sought
not simply to tell his readers what to think but to show them how
to think. Beautifully written and richly detailed, Samanth
Subramanian's A Dominant Character recounts Haldane's boisterous
life and examines the questions he raised about the intersections
of genetics and politics-questions that resonate even more urgently
today.
Book of the Year in The Economist, Guardian, New Statesman, Wall
Street Journal and New York Times. Shortlisted for the Duff Cooper
Prize & the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography.
'A wonderful book about one of the most important, brilliant and
flawed scientists of the 20th century.' Peter Frankopan 'Superb'
Matt Ridley, The Times 'Fascinating... The best Haldane biography
yet.' New York Times J.B.S. Haldane's life was rich and strange,
never short on genius, never lacking for drama. He is best
remembered as a geneticist who revolutionized our understanding of
evolution, but his peers thought him a polymath; one student called
him 'the last man who knew all there was to be known'. Beginning in
the 1930s, Haldane was also a staunch Communist - a stance that
enhanced his public profile, led him into trouble, and even drew
suspicions that he was spying for the Soviets. He wrote copiously
on science and politics for the layman, in newspapers and
magazines, and he gave speeches in town halls and on the radio, all
of which made him, in his day, as famous in Britain as Einstein.
Arthur C. Clarke called Haldane 'the most brilliant science
popularizer of his generation'. He frequently narrated aspects of
his life: of his childhood, as the son of a famous scientist; of
his time in the trenches in the First World War and in Spain during
the Civil War; of his experiments upon himself; of his secret
research for the British Admiralty; of his final move to India, in
1957. A Dominant Character unpacks Haldane's boisterous life in
detail, and it examines the questions he raised about the
intersections of genetics and politics - questions that resonate
all the more strongly today.
Book of the Year in The Economist, Guardian, New Statesman, Wall
Street Journal and New York Times. Shortlisted for the Duff Cooper
Prize, the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography and
the British Society for the History of Science Hughes Prize. 'A
wonderful book about one of the most important, brilliant and
flawed scientists of the 20th century.' Peter Frankopan 'Superb'
Matt Ridley, The Times 'Fascinating... The best Haldane biography
yet.' New York Times J.B.S. Haldane's life was rich and strange,
never short on genius, never lacking for drama. He is best
remembered as a geneticist who revolutionized our understanding of
evolution, but his peers thought him a polymath; one student called
him 'the last man who knew all there was to be known'. Beginning in
the 1930s, Haldane was also a staunch Communist - a stance that
enhanced his public profile, led him into trouble, and even drew
suspicions that he was spying for the Soviets. He wrote copiously
on science and politics for the layman, in newspapers and
magazines, and he gave speeches in town halls and on the radio, all
of which made him, in his day, as famous in Britain as Einstein.
Arthur C. Clarke called Haldane 'the most brilliant science
popularizer of his generation'. He frequently narrated aspects of
his life: of his childhood, as the son of a famous scientist; of
his time in the trenches in the First World War and in Spain during
the Civil War; of his experiments upon himself; of his secret
research for the British Admiralty; of his final move to India, in
1957. A Dominant Character unpacks Haldane's boisterous life in
detail, and it examines the questions he raised about the
intersections of genetics and politics - questions that resonate
all the more strongly today.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE 2015 SHORTLISTED FOR RSL
ONDAATJE PRIZE 2016 In the summer of 2009, the leader of the
dreaded Tamil Tiger guerrillas was killed, bringing to a bloody end
the stubborn and complicated civil war in Sri Lanka. For nearly
thirty years, the war's fingers had reached everywhere: into the
bustle of Colombo, the Buddhist monasteries scattered across the
island, the soft hills of central Sri Lanka, the curves of the
eastern coast near Batticaloa and Trincomalee, and the stark, hot
north. With its genius for brutality, the war left few places, and
fewer people, untouched. What happens to the texture of life in a
country that endures such bitter conflict? What happens to the
country's soul? Samanth Subramanian gives us an extraordinary
account of the Sri Lankan war and the lives it changed. Taking us
to the ghosts of summers past, and to other battles from other
times, he draws out the story of Sri Lanka today - an exhausted,
disturbed society, still hot from the embers of the war. Through
travels and conversations, he examines how people reconcile
themselves to violence, how religion and state conspire, how the
powerful become cruel, and how victory can be put to the task of
reshaping memory and burying histories. This Divided Island is a
harrowing and humane investigation of a country still inflamed.
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