University of Pennsylvania Press, c1998. In it the authors place biotechnology in the context of 20th century science, a necessary task considering much of what is written in the media about biotechnology implies the discipline emerged fully-formed without antecedents in the 1970's. Although the authors were able to meet to discuss each other's essays, the book does not flow well and is therefore not necessarily best read straight through. The levels of inquiry, from the macro level of the international economy to the micro level of individual scientists struggling over lab space, vary too widely and interpretations differ too much. The fact that the book is somewhat loosely tied by its theme is perhaps not the fault of the editor or any of the authors.
Biotechnology is a part of an ongoing biomolecular revolution and therefore a moving target.
Overall the book is a fine collection of scholarly work that is supported with copious notes and an index, although the latter is not terribly detailed, and its usefulness suffers from occasional entries with excessive page number references. The book should play a valuable role in any academic collection, especially if its individual essays are indexed by the indexing and abstracting services, thus providing more detailed access to its contents. Scholars in the disciplines of the history, sociology, and economics of science will also find it interesting for the look at biotechnology it offers from the point of view of a discipline other than their own. Those readers looking for an introduction to or overview of biotechnology will be better satisfied with another source, although they will find this volume helpful once they have narrowed their topic of interest. We welcome your comments about this article.