Storm over Biology

by Bernard D. Davis

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879753242
• ISBN13: 9780879753245
• Release Date: April 1986
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Science and politics of evolution, diversity, and race

Davis was one of the most brilliant biologists in America, anda famous professor of microbiology and genetics at Harvard MedicalSchool. He was a leader in the movement to preserve freedom of inquiry into certain important areas of biological science, notably human genetic variation and diversity, which had come under attack by leftist intellectual radicals and their allies in the 1970s. The book, a series of essays on science and related topics, includes Davis' powerful summary of his attempt to maintain academic standards at Harvard despite widespread pressure to achieve the political goals of affirmative action. This is fascinating history, erudite science, and elegant prose, with personal perspectives on Stephen Jay Gould, Carl Sagan, Richard Lewontin, Edward Wilson, and others. The book contains important and in some cases unique information relevant to understanding the science - and the politics - behind such topics as genetic testing, gene therapy, and cloning. Davis will continue to be read and contemplated long after many more fashionable scientists are forgotten, and this book is an important part of his legacy.