“‘You name it,’ writes Radick in his brilliant, provocative new book, Disputed Inheritance, ‘and there is, we are told, a gene for it, invisibly pulling the strings, determining how our bodies grow and our lives go.’ . . . Radick argues that, had genetics taken a Weldonian turn in the early twentieth century, we need have sacrificed nothing in our understanding of biology and would have reduced the hereditarianism that remains so prevalent today. . . . Radick has an extraordinarily rich research program in front of him that has the potential for significant impact on both science and society.”

FASEB Journal

"This is a magnificent book. It is really a tour de force, elegantly written and diligently documented. There is so much that I learned while reading it that has made me now better understand this story. I think it will be fascinating reading for everyone interested in the early history of genetics. Disputed Inheritance deserves to be widely read, and Radick deserves praise for an intellectual achievement that will change not only our understanding of history but also our approach to its study.”

Kostas Kampourakis, author of Understanding Genes

“Radick’s magisterial study scrutinizes common understandings—the ‘folk wisdom’—of the history of genetics. Informed by unusual historical depth and philosophical sophistication, Radick offers a compelling rival view, one that reinterprets both the history and the science itself. In a world often affected by loose talk about ‘genes for’ interesting traits, this book supplies a welcome antidote to simplistic thinking. It is as important as it is fascinating.”

Philip Kitcher, author of In Mendel’s Mirror: Philosophical Reflections on Biology

"There are few ideas in biology as powerful—and dangerous—as the notion that genes determine who we are and what we can become. In this deeply researched and beautifully written history, Radick reveals the contingent pathways through which genetic determinism took hold among biologists and beyond. Disputed Inheritance rewrites the story of genetics with care and verve, in the hopes that future students will learn to see both history and biology differently."
 

Helen Anne Curry, author of Evolution Made to Order

“Radick underscores some of the most vital but neglected facts of genetics—that genes don’t work in simple ways, and that variation and context matter. This is a beautifully researched, important book. It may be a work of history, but the lessons are also relevant for us today.”
 

Angela Saini, author of Superior: The Return of Race Science