Product Description

'Dear Mr Darwin - You might find it presumptuous of me, if not a little macabre, that I should take up my pen and write to you more than a hundred years after your death...Despite the gulf that separates us in time and means, I know that this letter will arouse your scientific interests, for it touches on some of the central issues with which you wrestled all your life.' Thus begins an imagined correspondence between the geneticist Gabriel Dover and Charles Darwin on the surprising findings of modern genetics and their influence on the evolution of biological novelties, from genes to organisms. Stimulated by Darwin's relatively uninformed but obviously intelligent questions, Dover takes the father of natural selection on an exhilarating roller-coaster ride through the 'new genetics'. Set against a backdrop of cultural references ranging from the late poet Ted Hughes, through the music of Captain Beefheart, to the current ethnic crisis in the Balkans, this trenchant and humorous correspondence presents a startlingly original view of development and evolution that puts the individual organisms centre-stage.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #802090 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Geneticist Gabriel Dover's new book is, as its name suggests, an imaginary correspondence with Charles Darwin which brings Darwin (and of course the reader) up to speed on the recent developments in modern genetics and on the implications of these developments for evolutionary theory.

The correspondence format allows Dover to regulate the pace and depth of the discussion and to anticipate and respond to questions readers might reasonably be expected to ask As Dover put it, "I thought it might prove a useful way to take you the readers from simple beginnings to complex understanding without resorting to jargon, while permitting the two correspondents to engage in a degree of spontaneity and personal asides." The opening chapter and the glossary of technical terms should help the reader negotiate the difficult passages while Dover's aggressive and often amusing prose style helps sustain the reader's interest. Rather than dazzling or seducing with brilliant metaphors, he marshals evidence with clarity, economy and wit. His frequent digressions on, for instance, Manchester United's miraculous triumph in the dying minutes of the European cup final, or on discussions between Sir Isaac Newton and a contemporary physicist on natural selection and alternative universes, or his near complete contempt for Richard Dawkins, or his love of poetry and music make the book entertaining, provocative and uplifting rather than just educative. Specialists should read this book as a matter of course and novices beginning their education here shouldn't be out of their depth.--Larry Brown

About the Author
SALES POINTS Unique blend of science, history and biography Timely and topical antidote to the deterministic writings of ultra-Darwinists such as Richard Dawkins First popular account of the author's influential molecular-drive theory of evolution 'Dear Mr Darwin is an engaging tour of Dover's passions, even if some are announced with more fanfare than they merit' Nature

Customer Reviews

Darwin debates modern evolutionary biology - a terrific read
What would Charles Darwin have made of today's startling new biology, with all it's jumping genes, cloned sheep and gene therapy? He'd need a formidable guide to bring him up to speed, someone who could unroll the achievements of the past 100 years, from Mendelian genetics to developmental genetics, while all the time questioning whether the discoveries agree or disagree with Darwin's own contribution - the theory of natural selection.

Three years ago, I left a career in research molecular biology to set up an Internet company - this book, the first science book I have read since, reminded me of the only thing I miss about those days - the pleasures of discussing real biology with the cognoscenti.

The premise of "Dear Mr. Darwin" is this: miraculously, after sending a letter to Darwin's grave in Westminster Abbey, Gabby Dover receives a reply. It is filled with Darwin's understandable curiosity - just what has been going on in biology since "The Origin of Species"? So, Dover writes back and a dialogue begins. Darwin's side of the correspondence reflects at times the views of the eager and insightful student, at others those of the devil's advocate, all the while reminding us of his own original ideas and how he came to develop them. Intriguingly, Dover slowly and patiently convinces Darwin that evolution by natural selection is not the only show in town.

For anyone wishing to learn about the Modern Biology, this is as painless a start as you could wish, introducing explanations for many of the fundamental processes of the genetics of the genetics and behaviour into the conversation with all the informality of a dinner party. Where diagrams are needed, Dover supplies his own hand-drawn sketches, scribbled onto the letters he writes to Darwin. Reading "Dear Mr. Darwin" is as close as many people will get to a stimulating afternoon in a pub with a professor of genetics.

Where "Dear Mr. Darwin" will really intrigue, however, is amongst all those who has been following the debate on evolution of human nature among behavioural geneticists and evolutionary psychologists. Now we have another set of views thrown into the ring - and this time, from someone who actually understands first-hand how genes work, someone who has made the study of the evolution of genetics his life's work.

Dover's book will delight all those who believe that human beings exist for more than to allow their genes to reproduce. These are the reasoned arguments of someone who can hold the complexities of the detailed processes of the genes in his head whilst also revisiting and updating Darwin's viewpoint. Read this book and you'll understand why it is that genes aren't selfish, and why the idea that the gene is the unit of evolutionary selection is a simplistic fallacy. As Dover says "genes are born to cooperate giving life to unique individuals who are free to control their own destiny." No cheap genetic determinism here.

What makes "Dear Mr. Darwin" rather unusual for such an erudite volume, is the insight it gives the reader into the personality of the author. The letter-writing format lends itself to small intrusions from the real world, for example, the victory of Manchester United over Bayern Munich in the European Champions Cup. A lifelong United fan, Dover is overwhelmed with joy and sees a metaphor for evolution in that event, dashing off a letter to Darwin to share his impressions.

Prepare to be amused by the ascerbic wit with which Dover's opponents in the evolution debate are derided, with lovely examples of each process of biology that Dover undertakes to explain. Prepare to be told in the most delightful possible way that however neat an idea it is that our genes control us, it ain't necessarily so.

Dover's disheveled idea *
Why some scientists attempt to "refute" Darwin remains perplexing. Some hope to gain notoriety by toppling such an icon. "Post-modernists" apply the "cultural artefact" dodge - natural selection could only arise in Victorian Britain. Still others have observed the complexities of today's life forms, and unable to comprehend how the process of natural selection brought them about, lash out in frustration. Gabriel Dover seems to fall in the latter category with this bizarre work, although an undercurrent of self-promotion is evident.

The book is an attempt to promote Dover's concept of "molecular drive" he introduced some years ago. In Dover's view, the complexities of today's chromosomes can be projected backward in time to explain evolution's mechanisms. Molecular drive is so powerful and far-reaching that it exceeds natural selection's gradual pace. Since this complexity can arise in nearly every life form above the single-cell organism, natural selection is thereby refuted, Dover says. He attempts to explain the mechanism with convoluted examples of fruit flies suffering from a rare, but deleterious mutation. By the time he's finished we are left with little understanding of how this process evolved, but even less of how it replaces natural selection.

Whiffs of Behe Syndrome permeate this book. BS is an affliction infecting those dazzled by the intricacies of modern genetics. Sufferers are unable to perceive the long reach of natural selection through time. Hence, they tend to maneuver around it, grasping at any straw in searching for quick, immediate answers to evolution's mysteries. Dover's "molecular coevolution" is an attempt to graft one of these answers to Darwin's original thesis. Like other examples of BS, it fails pitifully. Darwin's Idea survives this attempt at erosion with renewed strength.

The ethics of invoking the shade of Charles Darwin to inform us of advances in genetics are questionable at best. Darwin has been "updated" before, although none with the aim of degrading others. Dover presents his case in a series of letters, some attempting to explain modern molecular biology, some just "chatty". The shadow of Darwin is astoundingly tolerant of all this. Dover makes him out as appreciative of the update effort, but anyone who has read Darwin isn't deceived. Darwin was too clear a thinker to be misled by such devious tactics. Dover's inept handling of Darwin glares from every exchange. The many personal asides appear to be some form of camouflage to distract the reader from perceiving how ineptly Dover handles the issues. The barbed assault on Richard Dawkins sprinkled throughout the book proves even worse. Dover's recruiting Darwin's ghost as an ally in this venture is the final flaw. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

[* with humble apologies to Daniel C. Dennett]

Informative and entertaining
Dover clearly spells out his ideas using rather fun letters between him and Darwin. Sometimes the letters do come out as a little, "I think this. Don't you agree, Darwin?" "Oh yes, Dover, you're so clever." But to be fair, that was only an occasional niggle.

His condemnation of Dawkin's selfish gene theory had me a little bemused, as his actual writings seemed to largely support it (e.g. all the stuff on molecular evolution.) He seemed to totally disagree with big ideas because a few of his little ideas were different. After reading the book, I was left with the impression that if someone like Dawkins was a strategic visionary for evolutionary biology, then G. Dover was the accountant (not a bad thing -- some of my best friends are accountants...)