Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity
by Ackerman, Jennifer
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good/Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 0618082875
- ISBN 13
- 9780618082872
- Seller
-
Spokane Valley, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
In the last few years, a startling new message has emerged about our biology. Scientists probing the deep workings of organisms have discovered that all living things, from yeasts to worms to humans, are guided by similar genes and proteins, which have passed down nearly intact for hundreds of millions of years. At the most fundamental level, humans are genetically linked to every part of the natural world. The award-winning science writer Jennifer Ackerman brings these astonishing discoveries together for the first time, weaving a mesmerizing story of heredity that is only now being understood. Far more than a report from the field, CHANCE IN THE HOUSE OF FATE offers an encompassing vision of what these unities mean for our everyday lives. Ackerman's remarkable skills of description lend wonder and awe to the striking connections between our microcosmic makeup and the macrocosm of the visible world. Her voice is rich in imagery and poetry, vivid and deeply personal. Pregnant with her first child, she anxiously calculates the odds that her baby will inherit the gene that caused her younger sister's profound retardation. Illuminating the science of cell growth, she describes the heartbreaking cancer that claimed her mother's life. Carrying her daughter on her hip at the crack of dawn to observe the millennial orbit of a comet, she contemplates the universal circadian rhythms that measure the passing of time. "This is the alchemy of art with solid science -- the real thing," said Edward Hoagland in praising Jennifer Ackerman's NOTES FROM THE SHORE. Her new book is a magnificent addition to both science and literature.
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Details
- Seller
- gigabooks (US)
- Seller's Inventory #
- 303104
- Title
- Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity
- Author
- Ackerman, Jennifer
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 0618082875
- ISBN 13
- 9780618082872
- Publisher
- Houghton Mifflin Company
- Place of Publication
- Wilmington, Massachusetts, U.s.a.
- Date Published
- 2001
Terms of Sale
gigabooks
About the Seller
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- VG/VG
- Very Good Condition book with a Very Good Condition dust jacket. Very Good Condition indicates a used book that does show some...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...