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One of biology’s greats, Bill Hamilton, was the first to suggest that sex evolved to outwit parasites by shuffling genetic material. Hamilton’s posthumous papers, with introductions by collaborators, are published as Narrow Roads of Gene Land, volume three of which is out now, edited by Mark Ridley (Oxford University Press, £39.95). You’ll find all kinds of topics besides parasites. For useful background, try Adrian Woolfson’s clearly written An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Genetics (Duckworth, £3.99).