4 "an interesting overview on fascinating topics' stars !!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author/scientist and Perseus Books for an ecopy. This was released Sept 2020 and I am providing an honest review.

What makes us unique from other family members, other community members and those across the world. Scientist Mr. David Linden explores the latest research on a myriad of topics in an intelligent, accessible and entertaining fashion. Here is an overview of all the topics covered with varying degrees of detail and depth:

-the breeding of Soviet foxes in 1940s to increase domesticity and tameness
-a look at twin studies and all the helpful scientific data that was gleaned (Jim twins)
-maternal infections in mice during a certain point in pregnancy led to autism in offspring
-Ms. Streisand cloning her dog
-a fascinating look at memory and how faulty they are in addition to brain plasticity
-intersexuality
-gender identity and gender expression
-sexual orientation
-food preferences
-how scent operates in various species
-variability in sleep
-content and types of dreams
-a various interesting debunking of racist ideologies

So much more.....

Well worth reading. One tidbit I found most helpful is this:

....individuality is not a matter of "nature vs. nurture" but rather "heredity interacting with experience, filtered through the inherent randomness of development"....

This book was like reading a fascinating textbook. It was entertaining and informative. I enjoyed it quiet a bit, and would recommend it to anyone.

More of an excellent curated overview of genetics and public perception than specifically about uniqueness of individuals but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. Written well (and in many places argued well) for laypeople rather than scientists themselves but again, the bibliography was extensive covering both classic papers and really recent papers re-examining and contextualizing the classics.

As a retired geneticist myself, I found Unique: The New Science of Human Individuality by David J. Linden fascinating.

Much was outside the areas I had worked in and so I found it full of new and interesting information.

I thank Netgalley for the chance to read it before publication.

Dr. Linden is a professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Unique: The New Science of Human Individuality is written for the general audience. He is an excellent writer.

Inspired by the abundance of unique personalities available on dating websites, a renowned neuroscientist examines the science of what makes you, you. Not too long ago, David Linden found himself on OkCupid, one of the world’s great catalogues of human idiosyncrasy. Fortunately for his lonely heart, he found his soulmate. But, being a scientist, he couldn’t help but ask what made the whole thing work? His new book, Unique, gives the answer. During this book, Linden will tell us more about what he’s learned about the origins and importance of human individuality.

From the womb in which we developed to the food we just ate, Linden’s book explores the myriad factors that make us each unlike any other. At the heart of human individuality are our genes, but these are not genes that preordain our destiny. Rather, they are flexible ones, easily manipulated by the intrinsic randomness of human development and our experience in the world. Perhaps even more surprisingly, Linden reveals why human individuality—the things that set us apart—are in fact essential to our ability to live together.

Written in a style accessible to a layperson, Linden writes with fluidity and a potent and engaging mix of humour and solemnity. I reckon most people will find this book absolutely fascinating, as I did, and there is certainly an abundance of new, intriguing information to learn throughout. He explores topics including genetic factors, sexuality, nature v nurture, senses, memory, gender, race and neurology. I appreciated that there was a substantial bibliography at the rear which, if you are so inspired, makes it easy to discover more books on the topic. A riveting deep dive into an endlessly interesting topic, Unique is an eminently readable work on the scientific basis of individuality. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Basic Books for an ARC.

As a science nerd myself I found the topic of this book very interesting. The writing style was very accessible and easy to get through. I learned so many new things. I found the sections on sexuality and gender very interesting.

Utterly Fascinating. With this book, David Linden looks to the genetic - and thus, biological - factors of human individuality, from sex to race to neurology to senses and everything in between. The science is well documented - roughly 30% of the version of the book I read is bibliography - and recent - some citations were from 2019, when presumably the book was being written. It is also well balanced politically, stating with a fair degree of exactitude what the science currently says on any number of issues without going into the political debates surrounding those issues - including sex, gender, sexuality, and race specifically. Overall truly a fascinating deep dive that is incredibly readable while also being so exact, and thus one of the better science books I've encountered this year. Very much recommended.

This author is so far off base that there is very little to say about his dreadful book. Linden not only gets the current science completely backward he fills his dreadful book with very old stories that everyone has heard many times before. Skip this book!

Amazing deep-dive into the role genetics plays in our lives, personality development, behavior, preferences, and more.