I have just begun reading free excerpts from what is clearly an extraordinary book, a biography of the widely celebrated British biologist J. B. S. Haldane and have been immediately captivated its author Samanth Subramanian’s exceptional detailing and perspective.
If life turns for the better for me in terms of money, I may even consider splurging a whole $22.59 that the biography ‘A Dominant Character: The Radical science and Restless Politics of J.B.S. Haldane’ is priced at. For now though, that amount is better spent on groceries.
For me, the foremost attribute in any written material is that it should be at the very least readable. Subramanian has no problem on that score since produces a finely etched prose on which heavy historical details—both scientific and political—glide so lightly. To be able to so seamlessly and so tellingly blend biology, politics, Marxism, the erstwhile Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin and details of Haldane’s facility in quoting Dante, Norse myth and the Bhagwat Gita from memory requires a hefty writerly talent and Subramanian clear has it.
Samanth Subramanian
From what I have read so far, this is a truly great biography of not just a great biologist but an astonishingly eclectic mind who thought of and wrote about anything and everything, particularly politics. As Subramanian points out, Haldane never held back his political opinion. “It is difficult to imagine now a scientist like Haldane, who recognized how deeply political his work was and who thought it his duty to speak loudly about it. Except in rare cases scientists today wipe their public selves clean of any trace of politics ideology.”
With some luck I will set up an interview with Subramanian for my radio show on Bharat FM but irrespective of that I strongly recommend your read this book even though I have so far only read some free excerpts on Amazon. Like I said, for me a whole $22.59 is better spent on groceries in the current circumstances.