Monk in the Garden : The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics

English

Series: . Ser.

ISBN: 0395977657

EAN: 9780395977651

Category: Science / Life Sciences / Genetics & Genomics/Biography & Autobiography / General/

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Publishers

Release Date: 05/01/2000

Synopsis: Most people know that Gregor Mendel, the Moravian monk who patiently grew his peas in a monastery garden, shaped our understanding of inheritance. But people might not know that Mendels work was ignored in his own lifetime, even though it contained answers to the most pressing questions raised by Charles Darwins revolutionary book, ON ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES, published only a few years earlier. Mendels single chance of recognition failed utterly, and he died a lonely and disappointed man. Thirty-five years later, his work was rescued from obscurity in a single season, the spring of 1900, when three scientists from three different countries nearly simultaneously dusted off Mendels groundbreaking paper and finally recognized its profound significance. The perplexing silence that greeted Mendels discovery and his ultimate canonization as the father of genetics make up a tale of intrigue, jealousy, and a healthy dose of bad timing. Telling the story as it has never been told before, Robin Henig crafts a suspenseful, elegant, and richly detailed narrative that fully evokes Mendels life and work and the fate of his ideas as they made their perilous way toward the light of day. THE MONK IN THE GARDEN is a literary tour de force about a little-known chapter in the history of science, and it brings us back to the birth of genetics - a field that continues to challenge the way we think about life itself.

Awards: National Book Critics Circle Awards – null 

Excerpt: Unknown Property Excerpt

Monk in the Garden : The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics

Illustrated: Yes

Format: Hardcover

Height: 0.56 inches

Width: 5.5 inches

Length: 8.25 inches

Weight: 16.05 oz

Pages: 304