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Swarthmore College Works Biology Faculty Works Biology 3-1-2001 Review Of "Illuminating Life: Selected Papers From Cold Spring Harbor (1903-1969). Volume 1" By J. Witkowski John B. Jenkins Swarthmore College, jjenkin1@swarthmore.edu This work is brought to you for free and open access by . It has been accepted for inclusion in Biology Faculty Works by an authorized administrator of Works. For more information, please contact myworks@swarthmore.edu. Follow this and additional works at: https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-biology  Part of the Biology Commons, and the Genetics Commons Let us know how access to these works benefits you  Recommended Citation John B. Jenkins. (2001). "Review Of "Illuminating Life: Selected Papers From Cold Spring Harbor (1903-1969). Volume 1" By J. Witkowski". Quarterly Review Of Biology. Volume 76, Issue 1. 61-61. DOI: 10.1086/393755 https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-biology/466   The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Quarterly Review of Biology.http://www.jstor.orgReview Author(s): John B. Jenkins Review by: John B. Jenkins Source:   The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 76, No. 1 (Mar., 2001), p. 61Published by:  The University of Chicago PressStable URL:  http://www.jstor.org/stable/2664139Accessed: 22-03-2016 20:38 UTCYour use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/ info/about/policies/terms.jspJSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.This content downloaded from 130.58.65.20 on Tue, 22 Mar 2016 20:38:12 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions MARCH 2001 NEW BIOLOGICAL BOOKS 61 ILLUMINATING LIFE: SELECTED PAPERS FROM COLD SPRING HARBOR (1903-1969). Volume 1. By Jan Witkozvski. Cold Spring Harbor (New York): Cold Spring Harbor Laborato?y Press. $25.00. xvi + 383 p; ill.; name and subject indexes. ISBN: 0-87969-566-8. 2000. A beam of light, muted and subtle, captures two silhouetted figures hunched over a table, deep in conversation. One isJun-ichi Tomizawa, the other Dale Kaiser, pioneers in early studies of DNA repli- cation and recombination in bacterial viruses. These two giants of molecular genetics were attending the 1968 Cold Spring Harbor Symposium of Quantita- tive Biology that was devoted to the topic of DNA replication in microorganisms. This mesmerizing photo on the cover of this remarkable collection of 23 thoughtfully selected papers emanating from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory between 1903 and 1969 symbolizes the laboratory's eminent position in the spotlight of the molecular genetics revolution. This collection is hardly comprehensive; there is no way it could be. It does, however, represent the major genetic research themes that have dominated this world renowned laboratory, nestled at the head of Cold Spring Harbor, New York, since 1904. The 23 papers are arranged chronologically, beginning with an interesting 1903 nongenetic paper by C B Davenport on the ecology of Cold Spring Harbor. Davenport was the first director (1898) of The Brook- lyn Institute's Biological Laboratory that would even- tually evolve into the Cold Spring Harbor Labora- tory in 1962. The next 7 papers in this collection, published during the first two decades of this cen- tury, deal with dihybrid corn (Schull), Datura mu- tants (Blakeslee et al.), cancer in mice (Little, the founder of the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor; Richter), unstable Drosophila genes (Demerec), and human eye color inheritance (Davenport and Dav- enport). The 1930s are represented by 4 papers on Addison's disease (Rowntree et al.), PTC tasting (Blakeslee), pigeon hormones (Riddle et al.), and yeast membrane biophysics (Fricke and Curtis). The 1940s are represented by a classic study of trans- posable genetic elements (McClintock), and 2 pa- pers on war-time penicillin production (Demerec). The 1950s and 1960s moves into the molecular genetics era with 8 important papers: a continua- tion of the analysis of transposable genetic elements (McClintock), viral life cycle (Doermann), DNA versus protein as the genetic material (Hershey and Chase), tryptophan synthesis (Demerec and Hart- man), DNA repair (Witkin), DNA length in a bacte- rial virus (Cairns), viral chromosomes with "sticky ends" (Hershey et al.), and DNA polymerase mu- tants (DeLucia and Cairns). Witkowski has done a masterful job of selecting a range of papers highlighting Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's illustrious history from the earliest be- ginnings of Mendelism to the beginning of the mo- lecular genetics era. Each paper is preceded by an insightful introduction and a short biography. The laboratory's central role in the misguided and sor- did eugenics movement is mentioned, although downplayed. Davenport was a leader of the eugen- ics movement, and a more critical analysis of his and the laboratory's involvement would have been appropriate. That issue aside, this is a valuable book that belongs on the shelf of every geneticist and col- lege library. JOHN BJENKINS, Biology, Swarthmore College, Swarth- more, Pennsylvania BRIGHT PARADISE: VICTORIAN SCIENTIFIC TRAVEL- LERS. By Peter Raby. Princeton (New Jersey): Princeton Uni- versity Press. $15.95 (paper). xi + 276 p; ill.; index. ISBN: 0-691-04843-6. [First published in 1996.] 1997. Few biologists will have considered the influence of naturalists such as Alfred Russel Wallace on novel- ists like Joseph Conrad or Robert Louis Stevenson. Bright Paradise explores this scientific-cultural con- nection while profiling the expeditions and subse- quent social impact of more than a dozen British naturalist-explorers of the Victorian period. Al- though disparate in character and class, all of the scientific travelers penetrate the wilderness to col- lect and catalog specimens and record observations unique to regions beyond their civilized Eurocen- tric world. By so doing, according to Raby's central theme, the naturalists and their collecting enter- prise become tacit (if unwitting) agents of British imperialism by preparing the way for domination and exploitation of new territories for commerce. Raby's selection of naturalists extends beyond the obvious choices. He allots limited space to cele- brated naturalists such as Charles Darwin on board HMS Beagle, Joseph Hooker botanizing in the Hi- malayas, Thomas Henry Huxley touring the coasts of New Guinea and Australia on HMS Rattlesnake, and Henry Walter Bates in the Amazon. More de- tailed, however, is Raby's welcome description of the forays of little-known figures such as Mungo Park, Richard Lander, Richard Spruce, Mary Kings- ley, and botanical artist, Marianne North. Alfred Russel Wallace emerges as a central character, as Raby depicts the persistent naturalist's zoological and anthropological observations in South Amer- ica, and describes his pursuit of the orangutan in Borneo and the bird of paradise in the Aru Islands, off New Guinea. Particularly unique for a work in the histoiy of science is Raby's background in literature. More typical of his resume are books that include Oscar Wilde (1988. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge Univer-This content downloaded from 130.58.65.20 on Tue, 22 Mar 2016 20:38:12 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Review Of  Illuminating Life: Selected Papers From Cold Spring Harbor (1903-1969). Volume 1  By J. Witkowski

Swarthmore College 
Works 
Biology Faculty Works Biology 
3-1-2001 
Review Of "Illuminating Life: Selected Papers From Cold Spring 
Harbor (1903-1969). Volume 1" By J. Witkowski 
John B. Jenkins 
Swarthmore College, jjenkin1@swarthmore.edu 
Follow this and additional works at: https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-biology 
 Part of the Biology Commons, and the Genetics Commons 
Let us know how access to these works benefits you 
 
Recommended Citation 
John B. Jenkins. (2001). "Review Of "Illuminating Life: Selected Papers From Cold Spring Harbor 
(1903-1969). Volume 1" By J. Witkowski". Quarterly Review Of Biology. Volume 76, Issue 1. 61-61. DOI: 
10.1086/393755 
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-biology/466 
This work is brought to you for free by Swarthmore College Libraries' Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in 
Biology Faculty Works by an authorized administrator of Works. For more information, please contact 
myworks@swarthmore.edu. 
  The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Quarterly Review 
of Biology.
http://www.jstor.org
Review 
Author(s): John B. Jenkins 
Review by: John B. Jenkins 
Source:   The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 76, No. 1 (Mar., 2001), p. 61
Published by:  The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL:  http://www.jstor.org/stable/2664139
Accessed: 22-03-2016 20:38 UTC
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
 info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content 
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. 
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
This content downloaded from 130.58.65.20 on Tue, 22 Mar 2016 20:38:12 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 MARCH 2001 NEW BIOLOGICAL BOOKS 61
 ILLUMINATING LIFE: SELECTED PAPERS FROM COLD
 SPRING HARBOR (1903-1969). Volume 1.
 By Jan Witkozvski. Cold Spring Harbor (New York):
 Cold Spring Harbor Laborato?y Press. $25.00. xvi +
 383 p; ill.; name and subject indexes. ISBN:
 0-87969-566-8. 2000.
 A beam of light, muted and subtle, captures two
 silhouetted figures hunched over a table, deep in
 conversation. One isJun-ichi Tomizawa, the other
 Dale Kaiser, pioneers in early studies of DNA repli-
 cation and recombination in bacterial viruses. These
 two giants of molecular genetics were attending the
 1968 Cold Spring Harbor Symposium of Quantita-
 tive Biology that was devoted to the topic of DNA
 replication in microorganisms. This mesmerizing
 photo on the cover of this remarkable collection of 23
 thoughtfully selected papers emanating from the
 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory between 1903 and
 1969 symbolizes the laboratory's eminent position
 in the spotlight of the molecular genetics revolution.
 This collection is hardly comprehensive; there is
 no way it could be. It does, however, represent the
 major genetic research themes that have dominated
 this world renowned laboratory, nestled at the head
 of Cold Spring Harbor, New York, since 1904. The
 23 papers are arranged chronologically, beginning
 with an interesting 1903 nongenetic paper by C B
 Davenport on the ecology of Cold Spring Harbor.
 Davenport was the first director (1898) of The Brook-
 lyn Institute's Biological Laboratory that would even-
 tually evolve into the Cold Spring Harbor Labora-
 tory in 1962. The next 7 papers in this collection,
 published during the first two decades of this cen-
 tury, deal with dihybrid corn (Schull), Datura mu-
 tants (Blakeslee et al.), cancer in mice (Little, the
 founder of the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor;
 Richter), unstable Drosophila genes (Demerec), and
 human eye color inheritance (Davenport and Dav-
 enport). The 1930s are represented by 4 papers on
 Addison's disease (Rowntree et al.), PTC tasting
 (Blakeslee), pigeon hormones (Riddle et al.), and
 yeast membrane biophysics (Fricke and Curtis).
 The 1940s are represented by a classic study of trans-
 posable genetic elements (McClintock), and 2 pa-
 pers on war-time penicillin production (Demerec).
 The 1950s and 1960s moves into the molecular
 genetics era with 8 important papers: a continua-
 tion of the analysis of transposable genetic elements
 (McClintock), viral life cycle (Doermann), DNA
 versus protein as the genetic material (Hershey and
 Chase), tryptophan synthesis (Demerec and Hart-
 man), DNA repair (Witkin), DNA length in a bacte-
 rial virus (Cairns), viral chromosomes with "sticky
 ends" (Hershey et al.), and DNA polymerase mu-
 tants (DeLucia and Cairns).
 Witkowski has done a masterful job of selecting
 a range of papers highlighting Cold Spring Harbor
 Laboratory's illustrious history from the earliest be-
 ginnings of Mendelism to the beginning of the mo-
 lecular genetics era. Each paper is preceded by an
 insightful introduction and a short biography. The
 laboratory's central role in the misguided and sor-
 did eugenics movement is mentioned, although
 downplayed. Davenport was a leader of the eugen-
 ics movement, and a more critical analysis of his
 and the laboratory's involvement would have been
 appropriate. That issue aside, this is a valuable book
 that belongs on the shelf of every geneticist and col-
 lege library.
 JOHN BJENKINS, Biology, Swarthmore College, Swarth-
 more, Pennsylvania
 BRIGHT PARADISE: VICTORIAN SCIENTIFIC TRAVEL-
 LERS.
 By Peter Raby. Princeton (New Jersey): Princeton Uni-
 versity Press. $15.95 (paper). xi + 276 p; ill.; index.
 ISBN: 0-691-04843-6. [First published in 1996.]
 1997.
 Few biologists will have considered the influence of
 naturalists such as Alfred Russel Wallace on novel-
 ists like Joseph Conrad or Robert Louis Stevenson.
 Bright Paradise explores this scientific-cultural con-
 nection while profiling the expeditions and subse-
 quent social impact of more than a dozen British
 naturalist-explorers of the Victorian period. Al-
 though disparate in character and class, all of the
 scientific travelers penetrate the wilderness to col-
 lect and catalog specimens and record observations
 unique to regions beyond their civilized Eurocen-
 tric world. By so doing, according to Raby's central
 theme, the naturalists and their collecting enter-
 prise become tacit (if unwitting) agents of British
 imperialism by preparing the way for domination
 and exploitation of new territories for commerce.
 Raby's selection of naturalists extends beyond
 the obvious choices. He allots limited space to cele-
 brated naturalists such as Charles Darwin on board
 HMS Beagle, Joseph Hooker botanizing in the Hi-
 malayas, Thomas Henry Huxley touring the coasts
 of New Guinea and Australia on HMS Rattlesnake,
 and Henry Walter Bates in the Amazon. More de-
 tailed, however, is Raby's welcome description of
 the forays of little-known figures such as Mungo
 Park, Richard Lander, Richard Spruce, Mary Kings-
 ley, and botanical artist, Marianne North. Alfred
 Russel Wallace emerges as a central character, as
 Raby depicts the persistent naturalist's zoological
 and anthropological observations in South Amer-
 ica, and describes his pursuit of the orangutan in
 Borneo and the bird of paradise in the Aru Islands,
 off New Guinea.
 Particularly unique for a work in the histoiy of
 science is Raby's background in literature. More
 typical of his resume are books that include Oscar
 Wilde (1988. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge Univer-
This content downloaded from 130.58.65.20 on Tue, 22 Mar 2016 20:38:12 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions


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Review Of Illuminating Life: Selected Papers From Cold Spring Harbor (1903-1969). Volume 1 By J. Witkowski

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