The Book Prize Index

Time, Love, Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior

Jonathan Weiner

The story of a biologist's search for the foundations of behavior. Looking over the shoulder of some of the premier scientists in the field, biologist Weiner takes us into their laboratories to show us how pieces of DNA actually shape behavior. He focuses on the work of Seymour Benzer, who, decades ago, with James Watson and Francis Crick, helped to crack the genetic code. Then, in a simple experiment using a few test tubes, a light bulb, and 100 fruit flies, Benzer invented the genetic dissection of behavior. Now we see how he and his students find and study genes that build our inner clocks, genes that shape the way we love, and genes that decide what we can (or cannot) remember. These breakthroughs help explain secrets of human behavior and may lead to advance treatments for behavioral disorders ranging from rage to autism to schizophrenia.--From publisher description.

ScienceScience · medium confidenceScience81 signalsLlm Classifier: Science -> ScienceTopic Classifier: Intellectual Biography -> BiographyKeyword Classifier: Business & Economics -> Business & EconomicsIntellectual BiographyNatural History & AnimalsMemoir & Personal History

Award History

1 wins · 2 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
National Book Critics Circle Award for NonfictionMajor1999WinnerSecondary source
Royal Society Science Book PrizeMajor2000ShortlistSecondary source
View all award history (2)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    • Seymour Benzer78%
    Show lower-confidence suggestions

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • James Watson40%
    • Francis Crick38%

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

    This suggestion did not meet the normal display threshold and is more likely to be wrong.

    DNA-based genetic mechanisms shape key aspects of behavior—including inner clocks, love, and memory—so understanding them can explain human behavioral secrets and inform treatments for behavioral disorders.

    Model confidence 55%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    38 / 100 academic

    Serious trade

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 66%.