{"product_id":"9781101984611","title":"She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity","description":"\u003cb\u003e2019 PEN\/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award Finalist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Science book of the year\"\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 100 Notable Books for 2018\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e's Top Ten Books of 2018\u003cbr\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003c\/i\u003e's Best Books of 2018 \u003cbr\u003eOne of Mental Floss's Best Books of 2018\u003cbr\u003eOne of Science Friday's Best Science Books of 2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Extraordinary”—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review   \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Magisterial\"—\u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Engrossing\"—\u003ci\u003eWired\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Leading contender as the most outstanding nonfiction work of the year\"—\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star-Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCelebrated \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e columnist and science writer Carl Zimmer presents a profoundly original perspective on what we pass along from generation to generation. Charles Darwin played a crucial part in turning heredity into a scientific question, and yet he failed spectacularly to answer it. The birth of genetics in the early 1900s seemed to do precisely that. Gradually, people translated their old notions about heredity into a language of genes. As the technology for studying genes became cheaper, millions of people ordered genetic tests to link themselves to missing parents, to distant ancestors, to ethnic identities...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut, Zimmer writes, “Each of us carries an amalgam of fragments of DNA, stitched together from some of our many ancestors. Each piece has its own ancestry, traveling a different path back through human history. A particular fragment may sometimes be cause for worry, but most of our DNA influences who we are—our appearance, our height, our penchants—in inconceivably subtle ways.” Heredity isn’t just about genes that pass from parent to child. Heredity continues within our own bodies, as a single cell gives rise to trillions of cells that make up our bodies. We say we inherit genes from our ancestors—using a word that once referred to kingdoms and estates—but we inherit other things that matter as much or more to our lives, from microbes to technologies we use to make life more comfortable. We need a new definition of what heredity is and, through Carl Zimmer’s lucid exposition and storytelling, this resounding tour de force delivers it. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWeaving historical and current scientific research, his own experience with his two daughters, and the kind of original reporting expected of one of the world’s best science journalists, Zimmer ultimately unpacks urgent bioethical quandaries arising from new biomedical technologies, but also long-standing presumptions about who we really are and what we can pass on to future generations.","brand":"Penguin Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42370339176509,"sku":"9781101984611","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0603\/0838\/9949\/files\/9781101984611_p0.jpg?v=1771588218","url":"https:\/\/www.tatteredcover.com\/products\/9781101984611","provider":"Tattered Cover","version":"1.0","type":"link"}