The Seeds of Life: From Aristotle to da Vinci, from Sharks' Teeth to Frogs' Pants, the Long and Strange Quest to Discover Where Babies Come From

by Edward Dolnick

Overview

Why cracking the code of human conception took centuries of wild theories, misogynist blunders, and ludicrous mistakes

Throughout most of human history, babies were surprises. People knew the basics: men and women had sex, and sometimes babies followed. But beyond that the origins of life were a colossal mystery. The Seeds of Life is the remarkable and rollicking story of how a series of blundering geniuses and brilliant amateurs struggled for two centuries to discover where, exactly, babies come from.

Taking a page from investigative thrillers, acclaimed science writer Edward Dolnick looks to these early scientists as if they were detectives hot on the trail of a bedeviling and urgent mystery. These strange searchers included an Italian surgeon using shark teeth to prove that female reproductive organs were not 'failed' male genitalia, and a Catholic priest who designed ingenious miniature pants to prove that frogs required semen to fertilize their eggs.

A witty and rousing history of science, The Seeds of Life presents our greatest scientists struggling-against their perceptions, their religious beliefs, and their deep-seated prejudices-to uncover how and where we come from.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465082957
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	06/06/2017
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Edward Dolnick is the author of The Forger's Spell, Down the Great Unknown and the Edgar Award-winning The Rescue Artist. A former chief science writer at the Boston Globe, he has written for the Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times Magazine, and many other publications. There are over 130,000 copies of his books in print. He lives with his wife near Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Time Line ix

Prologue England in the Early 1630s 1

Part 1 Peering into the Body

1 Onward to Glory 7

2 Hidden in Deep Night 15

3 Swallowing Stones and Drinking Dew 23

4 Unmoored in Time 37

5 "Double, Double Toil and Trouble" 52

6 Door A or Door B? 64

Part 2 The Search for the EGG

7 Missing: One Universe (Reward to Finder) 81

8 Sharks' Teeth and Cows' Eggs 89

9 The Egg, At Last 96

10 A World in a Drop of Water 104

11 "Animals of the Semen" 114

Part 3 Russian Dolls

12 Dolls Within Dolls 125

13 The Message in God's Fine Print 138

14 Sea of Troubles 148

15 The Rabbit Woman of Godliman 160

16 "All in Pieces, All Coherence Gone" 172

17 The Cathedral That Built Itself 185

18 A Vase in Silhouette 197

Part 4 The Clockwork Topples and a New Theory Rises

19 Frogs in Silk Pants 209

20 A Drop of Venom 220

21 The Craze of the Century 228

22 "I Saw the Dull Yellow Eye of the Creature Open" 238

23 The Nose of the Sphinx 246

24 "The Game Is Afoot" 252

25 Caught! 258

Acknowledgments 265

Illustration Credits 266

Notes 267

Bibliography 289

Index 297

Editorial Reviews

As a record of a long biological quest, The Seeds of Life is full of detours, but that structure mimics the nature of scientific progress, illustrating how science is promoted or held back by colorful characters, by state and church intrusion or assistance, never lacking for rivalries and power struggles. Fascinating reading, Dolnick's book should evoke in us a sense of humility rather than amusement at the ignorance of the scientists of old.

The New York Times Book Review - Abraham Verghese

04/03/2017
Dolnick (The Clockwork Universe) traces the winding tale of European understanding of conception biology from the 16th through the 19th century, when the merging of sperm and egg was first physically seen. He examines the theories popularized by scientific luminaries in each period, following advances in anatomy, microscopy, and scientific method as well as changes in philosophy about the relationships between men and women, humans and animals, and the living world and God. Dolnick honors the history of ideas that seem ludicrous today, including that of preformation of tiny versions of all human bodies at the beginning of creation, and makes the point that even the most brilliant investigators can miss salient information they don’t expect, as when Vesalius observed ovarian follicles a century before de Graaf but dismissed them as irrelevant. Substantive background on the work of such figures as William Harvey and Luigi Galvani may feel like a diversion to readers only interested in reproductive biology, but Dolnick composes a cohesive narrative around his central question while noting its appeal as a side topic to key thinkers in science. Illus. Agent: Philippa Brophy, Sterling Lord Literistic. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Finalist for the 2017 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction


"An engaging and exuberant tour through centuries of thought about reproduction."
—Wall Street Journal

"Dolnick weaves a suspenseful tale of discovery, failure and often just plain weirdness while never losing sight of the mystery at hand."
—Scientific America

"As a record of a long biological quest, The Seeds of Life is full of detours, but that structure mimics the nature of scientific progress, illustrating how science is promoted or held back by colorful characters, by state and church intrusion or assistance, never lacking for rivalries and power struggles. Fascinating reading, Dolnick's book should evoke in us a sense of humility rather than amusement at the ignorance of the scientists of old."
—New York Times Book Review

"Full of intriguing anecdotes and colorful historical figures."
—Science Magazine

"Edward Dolnick's absorbing detective story spans outlandish ancient theories on baby-making and the nineteenth-century dawn of embryology, led by pioneers such as Oscar Hertwig."
—Nature

"The Seeds of Life is science-history writing at its very best. It tells a great story that reads like a mystery novel. But Dolnick also uses the story to demonstrate how science advances: through curiosity, brilliant insight, analogy, logic, experimentation, and hard work. Equally, he shows how it can be retarded by unexamined assumptions, ad hominem arguments, misplaced ego, and stubborn adherence to outworn theories."
—Commentary Magazine

"Combining first-class research and a truly delightful writing style, Dolnick shares his fascination with the history of science and our perception of reproduction in this enlightening and enjoyable read."
—Booklist

"A story with many wrong turns and near misses, skillfully tantalizing modern readers with hints of a great truth obscured by lack of information. [Dolnick] does an excellent job of explaining the critical role that religion played for early modern biologists."
—Library Journal

"A delightful history...[The Seeds of Life is] the best sort of science history, explaining not only how great men made great discoveries, but why equally great men, trapped by prejudices and what seemed to be plain common sense, missed what was in front of their noses."
—Kirkus, starred review

"Edward Dolnick delightfully unravels the strange, unreal, and often laugh-inducing tales born from man's long quest to find out 'where babies come from.' Well-researched and engagingly written, The Seeds of Life is a charmer of history: quotable, fast-paced, and a reminder that science's messy, fumbling, and flat-out faulty progress is often much stranger than fiction!"
—Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, author of Dr. Mutter's Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine

"Like all good history, The Seeds of Life reminds us of so much we take for granted. Any high school student who pays attention in biology class knows some secrets about sex that eluded generations of brilliant investigators. In clear and engaging prose, Edward Dolnick traces the fascinating breakthroughs, and even more interesting blind alleys, explored by these pioneers of procreation. It's a history lesson and a biology lesson, enriched by vivid portraits of the often eccentric but always remarkable men who wielded scalpels and microscopes, trying to explain where babies come from."
—Ernest Freeberg, author of The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America

"A wonderful, astonishing story, beautifully told. Edward Dolnick has surpassed himself (and everyone else)!"
—David Wootton, author of The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution

From the Publisher

05/01/2017
While it was common knowledge in the 17th century that babies resulted from men and women having sex, it took some time before people became aware of the nuances of conception and reproduction. Focusing on the years 1650–1875, Dolnick (The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World), former chief science writer for the Boston Globe, narrates a story with many wrong turns and near misses, skillfully tantalizing modern readers with hints of a greater truth obscured by lack of information. He also does an excellent job of explaining the critical role that religion played for early modern biologists. Today, we sometimes think of faith and science as being in opposition to each other, but that was not the case during this period; rather, religion inspired and directed the work of these early scientists. The narrative ends somewhat abruptly in 1875, when egg fertilization was witnessed for the first time. VERDICT An enlightening and quick read that delves into the details of a topic that readers might think they know all about. Those interested in the early modern period and the history of science in Europe will particularly appreciate this title.—Cate Hirschbiel, Iwasaki Lib., Emerson Coll., Boston

Library Journal

★ 2017-03-20
A history of the "search for the solution to the sex and conception mystery," focused on the period between 1650 and 1900.As former Boston Globe chief science writer Dolnick (The Rush: America's Fevered Quest for Fortune, 1848-1853, 2014, etc.) notes at the beginning of his latest book, "not everyone has wondered why the stars shine or why the earth spins," but "every person who has ever lived has asked where babies come from." Thoughtful scientists have confidently delivered the wrong answer, and the author provides a delightful history of what happened until they got it right. Everyone knew that an egg was involved, although brilliant anatomists (Vesalius, William Harvey) searched humans in vain. Semen was essential and—as men were considered the superior sex—the most important factor, but its role remained mysterious. When Antonie van Leeuwenhoek turned his microscope on his semen in the 1670s, he believed that each of the innumerable wiggling creatures contained a tiny human. Most scientists disagreed, insisting that the tiny human resided inside the still-unobserved human egg. This was "preformism." To early scientists, making an embryo from nothing was absurd. More refined experiments and the discovery that cells make up all living things produced impressive advances, but it was not until 1875 that a German biologist who remains mostly unknown (Oscar Hertwig) first saw a single sperm penetrate an egg (of a sea urchin) and fuse with the nucleus, after which the cell began to divide. Researchers then turned their attention to what happens afterward, but, having effectively answered the big question, Dolnick stops there. The best sort of science history, explaining not only how great men made great discoveries, but why equally great men, trapped by prejudices and what seemed to be plain common sense, missed what was in front of their noses.

Kirkus Reviews