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In The Engineer in the Garden, Colin
Tudge leads us through the intricacies of genetic theory
-- from its earliest classical form, to plant and animal
breeding, to cloning and the Human Genome Project. He explains
and questions the presumptions and ramifications of every
scientific assertion about "advance," including
sociobiology, genetic counseling, the creation of novel
vaccines, and the possibility of prolonging human life.
Cautious but not alarmist, Tudge argues that these scientific
advances have far outpaced our thinking about them, and
charges us to recognize that since science is part of the
social order, scientific literacy is no longer a privilege
of but a requirement for citizenship in the global community.
Our response to these new technologies must necessarily
involve our deepest thoughts about democratic principles,
economic theory, and the meaning of life.
A lucid and engaging overview of what we
have learned thus far, The Engineer in the Garden
is also a passionate and provocative work of social criticism.
Colin Tudge, England's most respected
science journalist, is the author of eight books. Educated
at Peterhouse, Cambridge University, he has contributed
to such magazines and newspapers as New Scientist,
World Medicine, Wildlife Conservation, The
Times, The Sunday Times, The Independent,
and The Guardian; he was a features editor at New
Scientist in 1980-84. From 1985 to 1990 he worked at
the BBC Radio Science Unit, where he developed, wrote, and
presented five series in its principal science program.
Tudge is the sole three-time recipient
of the Glaxo/ABSW Science Writer of the Year Award. A Fellow
of the Zoological Society of London since 1972 and a member
of its Council since 1992, he is a founding member of the
London Zoo Fellows' Reform. He lives with his wife and three
children in London.
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