A Dominant Character

March 23, 2020
Journalist Subramanian (This Divided Island) explores the significant achievements and flaws of British geneticist J.B.S. Haldane (1892–1964) in this insightful biography. As the book shows, Haldane helped create the field of population genetics, which was central to bridging Darwinian evolution and Mendelian genetics. He was also a gifted popularizer, with a rare ability for explaining technical concepts to laypeople. However, his deep concerns about economic justice led to his public embrace of the Soviet regime, Subramanian writes, and ultimately to “conflict between his scientific integrity and his political fealty.” This played out most clearly in Haldane’s support for Trofim Lysenko, director of the Soviet Institute of Genetics, who was notorious for disputing virtually all accepted genetic principles and for purging the country of any scientist who disagreed with his positions. Subramanian skillfully explores the tensions and contradictions embodied by Haldane, a man who continued to work on behalf of the British government he regularly criticized, all the while under surveillance by the British intelligence service that suspected him of being a Soviet spy. This portrait of a brilliant, egotistical contrarian illustrates how science and politics can collide, a subject with ample relevance for the modern world.