>Farradane at 18:33, 25 February 2021

2021-02-25T18:33:25Z

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{{Infobox book
| name = A Dominant Character
| image = A Dominant Character.jpg
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| author = [[Samanth Subramanian]]
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| orig_lang_code = en-IN
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| country = India
| language = [[Indian English]]
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| genre = Biography
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| publisher = [[Simon and Schuster]]
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| pub_date = 2019
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'''''A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of J. B. S. Haldane''''' is a biography of [[J. B. S. Haldane]], British-Indian geneticist, communist and writer; written by [[Samanth Subramanian]] and published by [[Simon and Schuster]] in 2019.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Subramanian|first=Samanth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sjHADwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=a+dominant+character+jbs+haldane |title=A Dominant Character: The Science and Politics of J.B.S. Haldane|date=2019-12-10|publisher=S&S India|isbn=978-93-86797-53-7|language=en}}</ref>

== Publication ==
A Dominant Character is a [[biography]] of [[J. B. S. Haldane]] who was a British-Indian geneticist, scientist, innovator, author, writer and communist philosopher.<ref name=":4" /> The book was published on 10 December 2019 by [[Simon & Schuster|Simon & Schuster UK]] and has 384 pages.<ref name=":4" />

== Summary ==
J.B.S. Haldane was a scientist who was born in Britain yet was spiritually inclined towards India. He saw action in the two World Wars, was engaged in the most radical politics of his day, conducted scientific research, and wrote with flair and conviction. The book describes his intellect, vision of society, philosophy, and scientific progress.<ref name=":1" /> In the latter part, the book mentions his journey to [[India]] and within India, from [[Kolkata]] to [[Bhubaneswar]].<ref name=":0" />

== Reception ==
Jacob Koshy, in ''[[The Hindu]]'', wrote that the work is an "exquisite literary expedition" into J.B.S.’ boyhood, his family history, his schooling.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Koshy|first=Jacob|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/a-dominant-character-the-radical-science-and-restless-politics-of-jbs-haldane-review-an-unusual-life/article30761608.ece|title=‘A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of J.B.S. Haldane’ review: An unusual life|date=2020-02-08|work=The Hindu|access-date=2020-02-14|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Koshy wrote that many facts of Haldane's life are well documented in the book and concluded that Subramanian gave compelling context.<ref name=":0" />

Shobhit Mahajan wrote that the book is a "comprehensive account" of Haldane's life in a review for ''[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook magazine]]''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/books-spirit-in-his-genes/302589|title=Spirit In His Genes {{!}} Outlook India Magazine|last=|first=|date=|website=Outlook|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-02-14}}</ref> He noted that the biography grapples well with a great life and found the book well-researched, with extensive use of Haldane's diaries and private letters.<ref name=":1" /> He praised the author's "lucid writing" and described the book as a "page-turner" with brilliant asides.<ref name=":1" /> He further wrote that the book does a decent job of explaining complicated scientific work in simpler terms, but points out that the author leaves out some details of the work done by Haldane.<ref name=":1" />

Vineetha Mokkil, writing for ''[[The Hindu Businessline]]'', praised the work and called it a "major contribution in modern intellectual history as well as an insightful and moving biography".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/read/review-of-samanth-subramanians-a-dominant-character/article30350315.ece|title=JBS Haldane: An enquiry into an uncommon mind|last=Mokkil|first=Vineetha|website=@businessline|language=en|access-date=2020-02-14}}</ref> She wrote that the author did a "fine job" in bringing Haldane to life.<ref name=":2" />

In a review for [[The Wire (India)|''The Wire'']], T. N. Avinash also wrote that author did "admirable job" describing Haldane's life and how political scenarios formed his worldview.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/the-sciences/jbs-haldane-samanth-subramanian-dominant-character-book-review|title=Review: A Fine Profile of J.B.S. Haldane as Scientist and Scientific Socialist|website=The Wire|access-date=2020-02-14}}</ref> However, he criticised the omission of some of the scientific responses to Haldane's work, such as [[Ernst Mayr]]’s critique of ‘[[beanbag genetics]]’.<ref name=":3" /> R. Prasannan, writing for ''[[The Week Magazine]]'', called the work an "honest biography", but noted that there are few details about [[Bhubaneswar]], a city where Haldane settled in later life. He also lamented the lack of an index.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theweek.in/theweek/leisure/2020/01/31/master-of-many-trades.html|title=Master of many trades|website=The Week|language=en|access-date=2020-02-14}}</ref>

''[[Firstpost]]'' listed it in the Books of Week on 11 January 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/books-of-the-week-from-cyrus-mistrys-the-prospect-of-miracles-to-clues-to-the-cosmos-our-picks-7888211.html|title=Books of the week: From Cyrus Mistry's The Prospect of Miracles to Clues to the Cosmos, our picks|website=Firstpost|access-date=2020-02-14}}</ref>

The book has been selected as one of the ''100 Notable Books of 2020'' by ''The New York Times''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/books/notable-books.html
|title=100 Notable Books of 2020
|publisher=The New York Times
|date=12 December 2020
|accessdate=December 16, 2020}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/a-dominant-character-haldane-samanth-subramanian.html The New York Times review of A Dominant Character]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dominant Character}}
[[Category:2019 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Books about scientists]]
[[Category:Indian biographies]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian books]]

A Dominant Character - Revision history

>Farradane at 18:33, 25 February 2021