It was only around 1800 that heredity began to enter debates among
physicians, breeders, and naturalists. Soon thereafter it evolved
into one of the most fundamental concepts of biology. In this book,
the authors offer a succinct cultural history of the scientific
concept of heredity.
"A Cultural History of Heredity is an enormously interesting and persuasive book that will speak not only to historians of science but also to biologists and general social and intellectual historians interested in the interface between the nitty-gritty of biology and the backdrop of social and cultural affairs." (Frederick B. Churchill, Indiana University)"
Staffan Muller-Wille is a senior lecturer and research associate with the ESRC Centre for Genomics in Society and the Centre for Medical History, both at the University of Exeter. Hans-Jorg Rheinberger is director of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. They are the editors of Heredity Produced: At the Crossroads of Biology, Politics, and Culture, 1500-1870.
