Lewontin is a professor of genetics at Harvard and a progressive Marxist biologist.

He emerged in the 1980s as the most eloquent spokesman for a group of scientists who strongly oppose the view that human behaviors are largely based on genetics. There were heated debates surrounding the popularized sociobiologist’s view of Edward Wilson, who had tried to apply the lessons learned from studying social behavior of ants to human behavior. Lewontin argued forcefully for the importance of examining the interaction and interdependence between genes and environment when studying complex biological phenomena.

This book contains his essays triggered by the books he reviewed, and exchanges with opponents following the publication of his original essays. In my view, Lewontin’s arguments have become increasingly relevant following the completion of the Human Genome Project. There is now the resurgence of the “eugenic” view, i.e., all normal and pathological behaviors are based on the genetic makeup of a person. There are now genes claimed to be responsible for depression, for homosexuality, for suicidal tendency, for longevity, for social behavior…..There are in fact reputable scientists who are actively propagating the naïve and misleading message that a single gene could “determine” a particular social behavior. While we might suspect that Lewontin had deliberately positioned himself towards the extreme end of a wide spectrum of opinions, his words are refreshing, provocative, and persuasive. Ideology asides, there is little doubt that he is a very effective writer. If you want find a model for learning scientific writing, use Lewontin as a model.