Customer Reviews

The Lysenko Effect: The Politics Of Science

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The topic of this book is very interesting and portrays an important time not just in Soviet history, but in biological science. However, the style of writing in this book is very dry and technical as to dates and facts--it reads as a very well researched graduate thesis. Such a writing style will turn off the casual reader with its endless notes, repetition of statements and facts, and lack of any emotional input by thee author to the subject matter. The book is also too narrowly focused on meetings and discussions between Lysenko and other leading Soviet scientists of the time, and largely fails to address any detail of the food shortages that motivated the same scientists in their work.

Additionally, even as trained PhD in genetics, I find any sort of discussion of Lysenko's theories of biology and the experiments he actually performed somewhat confusing and poorly described. The focus of this book is on the historical and political significance of Lysenko and his interaction with the Soviet science community. Those interested in Lysenkos' biology and a deeper understanding of prevailing Soviet biological theories will be largely disappointed.