Handbook of statistical genetics, 2nd edition

The problems created by the massive data available since the decipherment of the first human genome, followed by in situ quantitation of RNA in the thousand or so cell varieties, in health and disease, are far from resolved. Unlike astronomy , with its equivalent problems of evolution and data-drownin g, biology and medicine involve fewer units but a far greater variety: only sequence data can claim exemption from the fuzzy nouns on which most other descriptions depend. To make matters worse few observers of living organisms— well, sick or dead—can approach the average mathematical ability of astronomers. Unlike astronomy, biology is more than an observational study: we depend on plants and animals to concentrate and package our foods and medical services to ease the problems of birth, illness and death. Big problems need big books. This one, or rather pair— the first edition has twinned—certainly qualifies, weighing in at almost three kilograms and costing £230–£290 pounds (the amount seems to vary for new books according to supplier identified on the Internet, and some suppliers quote lower, changing prices for used copies). Blackwells declin to display such expensive books, possibly explaining their solitary order when last consulted. While the reputation of its contributors will ensure good sales to major libraries, ts cost will deprive them of the readership they deserve. It will rarely enter the shelves of small departmental librari es, where they exist, or are allowed to exist. Advances in genetics, as in its subject matter, are largely dependent on small departments: larger departments are essential for utilizing these advances. Additional chapters in the second edition are on ‘Evolutionary quantitative genetics’, ‘Bayesian methods in ge nomics’ and ‘Analysis of microarray gene expression data’: only the last is justified by technical advances since the firs t edition. There is more extensive indexing in the second edition. The reference index is deficient in giving the page of the reference rather than the page needing the reference. Th e glossary has many omissions and some unacceptable errors.