The gene an intimate history is a book written by siddhartha mukherjee an indian born american physician and oncologist it was published on 17 may 2016 by scribner 1 the book chronicles the history of the gene and genetic research all the way from aristotle to crick watson and franklin and then the 21st century scientists who mapped the human genome . The gene an intimate history the gene an intimate history siddhartha mukherjees follow up to the bestselling pulitzer winning the emperor of all maladies is the story of the quest to decipher the master code of instructions that makes and defines humans that governs our form function and fate and determines the future of our children. The gene an intimate history new york scribner 2016 593 pp 3200 cloth isbn 978 1 4767 3350 0 reviewed by aldemaro romero jr baruch college heredity has always been in one form or another at the center of biological research. The book begins as an intimate history of genetics but develops into the intimate future of one of the most powerful and dangerous ideas in the history of science the gene the fundamental unit of hereditary and the basic unit of all biological information