Mark S. Blumberg

Oxford University Press

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From the book jacket:

In most respects, Abigail and Brittany Hensel are normal American twins. Born and raised in a small town, they enjoy a close relationship, though each has her own tastes and personality. But the Hensels also share a body. Their two heads sit side-by-side on a single torso, with two arms and two legs. They have not only survived, but have developed into athletic, graceful young women. And that, writes Mark S. Blumberg, opens an extraordinary window onto human development and evolution.

In Freaks of Nature, Blumberg turns a scientist's eye on the oddities of nature, showing how a subject once relegated to the sideshow can help explain some of the deepest complexities of biology. Why, for example, does a two-headed human so resemble a two-headed minnow? What we need to understand, Blumberg argues, is that anomalies are the natural products of development, and it is through developmental mechanisms that evolution works. Freaks of Nature induces a kind of intellectual vertigo as it upends our intuitive understanding of biology. What really is an anomaly? Why is a limbless human a "freak," but a limbless reptile -- a snake -- a successful variation?

What we see as deformities, Blumberg writes, are merely alternative paths for development, which challenge both the creature itself and our ability to fit it into our familiar categories. Rather than mere misfits, many anomalies prove surprisingly survivable -- as in the case of the goat without forelimbs that developed the ability to walk upright. Blumberg explains how such variations occur, and points to the success of the Hensel sisters and the goat as examples of the extraordinary flexibility inherent in individual development.

In taking seriously a subject that has often been shunned as discomfiting and embarrassing, Mark Blumberg sheds new light on how individuals -- and entire species -- develop, survive, and evolve.

Interviews:

Radio Health Journal, May 17, 2009 (audio; interview begins halfway through program)

The Exchange with Ben Kieffer (KSUI, Iowa Public Radio), December 12, 2008 (audio: 1 h).

Word of Mouth (New Hampshire Public Radio), December 4, 2008 (audio: 12 min)

Live from Prairie Lights, December 2, 2008 (video: 5 min)

Think (KERA, Public Radio for North Texas), December 1, 2008 (audio: 1 h)

Reviews:

Science

Journal of Clinical Investigation

Skeptical Inquirer

Choice

Nature (followed by this response)

The Guardian

Daily Telegraph

Science News

Discover

Financial Times

The Scientist

New Scientist

Chronicle of Higher Education

Evolving Thoughts

Boldtype

io9

Neurotopia

"Mark Blumberg is a freak of literature -- one of the very few scientist writers (think Stephen Jay Gould or Oliver Sacks) who can sweep us along as they try to figure out how the exceptions in the species can prove the rule of who we all are. In Freaks of Nature, the specimens are certainly riveting, but it's also Blumberg's lucid, lyrical, profound insights into what it means to be human that will stay with the reader."

Richard Panek, author of Seeing and Believing: How the Telescope Opened Our Eyes and Minds to the Heaven and The Invisible Century: Einstein, Freud, and the Search for Hidden Universes

"...a highly readable, entertaining, and informative introduction to the science and culture connected with freaks and monsters."

Manfred Laubichler, Science

"A stimulating read."

Rob Hastings, Financial Times

"A fascinating pop exegesis of evo devo."

Steven Poole, The Guardian

"Blumberg’s explanations of the factors that go into [these] deformations are gripping."

Robert Colvile, Daily Telegraph

"With well-picked examples, Blumberg constructs his at first peculiar, but ultimately profound, argument.... Startlingly convincing...."

Elizabeth Quill, Science News

"An interesting and insightful evolution-based examination of a curious topic."

Benjamin Radford, Skeptical Inquirer

"Engrossing and interesting."

John Wilkins, Evolving Thoughts

"Eminent neuroscientist Blumberg offers a strangely poetic analysis of new theories of evolution.... If you're interested in the science behind the macabre, this book will thrill you. It's also a must-read for anyone who wants to know more about a cutting-edge area of evolutionary theory."

Annalee Newitz, io9

"When people come to the Mutter Museum 'to see the freaks' I cringe inwardly, smile outwardly and generally say nothing at all. I have found over the years that the inhabitants of this remarkable place say far more than I ever could. Whatever the reason for visiting the museum -- fascination, repulsion, even derision -- people tend to leave more informed and perhaps even more aware than when they arrive. And that is exactly how I felt after reading this book."

Anna N. Dhody, Curator of the Mutter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, in The Scientist

"Blumberg takes us on a tour of real-life teratology, and how understanding abnormalities is casting new light on the relationship between the genetic and non-genetic forces that shape us all."

Stephen Cass, Discover

"By presenting a parade of animal ‘freaks’ — mutants, developmental anomalies and weird species — Blumberg imparts lessons that, although familiar to biologists, will be valuable to non-specialists. He emphasizes that the complex process of development can be unravelled by understanding how such anomalies are produced.... Blumberg illustrates his points with clear and intriguing examples.... Blumberg’s ambitions transcend storytelling: he aims to show that developmental biology has made real contributions to evolutionary theory.

Jerry Coyne, Nature

"I really liked the book, very readable science, and full of interesting facts and eye-openers.... Highly recommended."

Neurotopia

"Blumberg is a developmental psychobiologist, and thus advocates for a more supple understanding of the interplay between development, behavior, and evolution than has usually been accepted. He eloquently defends the view that "development is the story of adaptation within one lifetime," and that thinking seriously about anomalies helps us see "how much adaptability there is in the developing organism."

Jason B. Jones, Boldtype

"Mark Blumberg's beautifully written book introduces some major problems in both developmental and evolutionary biology."