Biochemistry and Morphogenesis

This is a book, designed for popular consumption, that lists a number of normal characters held to be inherited in man. Many traits are scarcely "treasures," as might be inferred from the title. They pertain chiefly to physical characters, especially those of the face and other readily inspected areas. Much of the material would appear to have been obtained from students in the author's class of genetics who have used freely their family albums in documentation of the traits possessed by their ancestors. The value of this book lies in its variety and number (234) of illustrations, which are largely of good quality, and in the fact that it contains many suggestions as to normal features that can be observed by one who wishes to study human inheritance. The number of entities that had been made available previously for use in this regard is unfortunately small, for example, blood types and groups, dermatoglyphics, ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide, and the presence of mid-digital hair. From the scientific standpoint this work suffers from the absence of quantitative methods, from over-simplification, and from an uncritical viewpoint. Many of the traits described as recessive or dominant are probably controlled by multiple factors and were tested inadequately to permit the conclusions drawn. A typical instance of this is the acceptance of the form of frontal hair line as a somewhat standard condition despite the known occurrence of changes related to sex and age. -JAMES B. HAMILTON.