Genes in Conflict: The Biology of Selfish Genetic Elements

I was EXTREMELY lucky to have taken an one-on-one course with Dr. Trivers and I must say that he's the first to both praise and point out pitfalls in this book. While being the most definitive guide to the subject out there, it can at times be very technical and hard to understand. Especially the chapters on genomic imprinting, exclusion (for me). However, I feel that this complexity only arises from the fact that the chapters are written out with as much detail as possible (as you will be able to see from the pages and pages of references in the bibliography). Each chapter comes with its relevant illustrations, with the figures for mechanisms of selfish drive being the most important ones. Figures showing data can be complicated and at times, he even CALLED the authors while I was in class to answer a question I had. The book is very well organized with the authors laying out the background followed by each chapter dedicated to a specialized genetic element. Work on B chromosomes, genetic imprinting, sex chromosome and autosomal drive are particularly well written with implications and mechanisms detailed out with the latest (uptil time of publication) information. The only think lacking that I thought from the book was a better and more thorough summary chapter at the end, but then again I'm just being picky. With so much detail on the each topic within the chapter, the summary is pretty well written out. Finally, I want to add that this is a book on evolution and the evolution and role of selfish genetic elements in shaping the evolution of host genomes (if it happens at all). It can get technical but the subject is never introduced in any form of education that I have experienced so the concepts were relatively new to me. This book will be a difficult read for the average reader not well versed with some concepts in biology as kin-ship theory or "degrees of relatedness". But if you want a solid and detailed description of the world of selfish elements, this is the book !