Book excerpt: With the rise of genomics, the life sciences have entered a new era. This book provides a comprehensive history of mapping procedures as they were developed in classical genetics. An accompanying volume - From Molecular Genetics to Genomics - covers the history of molecular genetics and genomics. The book shows that the technology of genetic mapping is by no means a recent acquisition of molecular genetics or even genetic engineering. It demonstrates that the development of mapping technologies has accompanied the rise of modern genetics from its very beginnings. In Section One, Mendelian genetics is set in perspective from the viewpoint of the detection and description of linkage phenomena. Section Two addresses the role of mapping for the experimental working practice of classical geneticists, their social interactions and for the laboratory 'life worlds'. With detailed analyses of the scientific practices of mapping and its illustration of the diversity of mapping practices this book is a significant contibution to the history of genetics. A companion volume from the same editors - From Molecular Genetics to Genomics: The Mapping Cultures of Twentieth Century Genetics - covers the history of molecular genetics and genomics.