GENETICS AT PENN STATE

Genetics & Human Heredity was written by Ben Hill, Professor Emeritus of Botany at Pennsylvania State University and co-authored by Helen Hill, an Assistant Geneticist at USDA. The preface was written in 1953 in State College, PA. The book was designed for students beginning college level genetics with a primary focus on two important ideas: the molecular structure of genetic features and the influence genes have on the development of physical characteristics. The book has ten modules and contains many examples of different types of gene inheritance and expression using hypothetical animal models. The book was a gift to Pennsylvania State University from Helen and Ben Hill, and they autographed the first page of the book. I chose Genetics & Human Heredity because I’m interested in genetics, and I wanted to see how much has changed in the field of genetics from when this book was written 70 years ago. The book is still surprisingly relevant, probably because it focuses on the foundations of genetics rather than new technologies.

by Taylor Flahart, Biology, Class of 2027

Ben and Helen Hill
Genetics and Human Heredity
New York : McGraw-Hill, [1955]
Eberly Family Special Collections Library