Body-Build and Its Inheritance by Charles Benedict Davenport

Description

Charles Benedict Davenport was the first director of the Carnegie Institution’s Station for Experimental Evolution, and in this monograph he brought the new science of heredity to a disarmingly homely question: why do human bodies differ so radically in weight and form? He begins by sorting the popular vocabulary — the stout, the spare, the lean and the fleshy — and then sets out to measure these differences systematically, testing how build distributes in the population and how parents pass it on.

The book is a landmark of early human genetics, full of the meticulous tables and patient genealogies that earned Davenport his reputation, yet written plainly enough for the intelligent non-specialist. It records a science in the making and stands as a document of how the twentieth century learnt to think about heredity. For students of science history and genetics alike it is both reference and period piece.

Why readers still come back to it

• A founding text of human genetics from the Carnegie laboratories
• Clear, data-rich account of how physique varies and is inherited
• Essential reading on the history of heredity research

About this DodaBooks edition

This edition gives you the complete text with clean, professional typesetting, a working table of contents, and careful chapter navigation — designed for comfortable reading on phones, tablets, and e-readers. Instant download after purchase.