A grand tour of epochal events in biology history.
Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the publication of the Watson-Crick double helix model, and with a PBS series on the history of DNA hosted by Watson, this blockbuster recaps how it happened, what came before, where we are today, and what the future may hold.
And does it well. From Darwin through the eugenics movement, from the fruit-fly boys at Columbia at the beginning of the 20th century through the Collins-Venter race for the human genome at the end, it’s pretty much all here: the sterilization laws and the Holocaust, biology after WWII, pioneers like Oswald Avery, who realized it was DNA and not proteins that held the secret of life, and how W and C got it together. It’s a twice-told tale, but worth retelling, especially as pains were taken to make it generally accessible. Indeed, while the text is written in Watson’s voice, credit must surely go to Berry as an able co-author. What makes this exceptional is the extent to which it explores everything that’s happened since 1953: “Playing God” fears about recombinant DNA and genetically modified (GM) foods; the use of DNA fingerprinting; DNA analysis to determine our African origins; the hunt for the genes for Huntington’s disease, cystic fibrosis, breast cancer, and other scourges; the pros and cons of genetic testing and building DNA databases; the difficulties of gene therapy; and the potential for genetic enhancements. Unsurprisingly, Watson (Girls, Genes, and Gamow, 2002, etc.) favors GM foods, sees value in DNA databases, laments the under-use of genetic tests, and has it in for Craig Venter and firms that guard gene patents. Never shy about espousing politically incorrect views, he would like to see behavioral genetics research proceed and favors germline therapy—not tomorrow, but as we learn more. Optimism pertains throughout: Watson sees the evolution of human cooperation and love transcendent over gene enhancement for the rich and famous.
A grand tour of epochal events in biology history.Pub Date: April 7, 2003
ISBN: 0-375-41546-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The Johnstown Flood was one of the greatest natural disasters of all time (actually manmade, since it was precipitated by a wealthy country club dam which had long been the source of justified misgivings). This then is a routine rundown of the catastrophe of May 31st, 1889, the biggest news story since Lincoln's murder in which thousands died. The most interesting incidental: a baby floated unharmed in its cradle for eighty miles.... Perhaps of local interest-but it lacks the Lord-ly touch.
Pub Date: March 18, 1968
ISBN: 0671207148
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1968
IN THE NEWS
A media-savvy scientist cleans out his desk.
Tyson (Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, 2017, etc.) receives a great deal of mail, and this slim volume collects his responses and other scraps of writing.
The prolific science commentator and bestselling author, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History, delivers few surprises and much admirable commentary. Readers may suspect that most of these letters date from the author’s earlier years when, a newly minted celebrity, he still thrilled that many of his audience were pouring out their hearts. Consequently, unlike more hardened colleagues, he sought to address their concerns. As years passed, suspecting that many had no interest in tapping his expertise or entering into an intelligent give and take, he undoubtedly made greater use of the waste basket. Tyson eschews pure fan letters, but many of these selections are full of compliments as a prelude to asking advice, pointing out mistakes, proclaiming opposing beliefs, or denouncing him. Readers will also encounter some earnest op-ed pieces and his eyewitness account of 9/11. “I consider myself emotionally strong,” he writes. “What I bore witness to, however, was especially upsetting, with indelible images of horror that will not soon leave my mind.” To crackpots, he gently repeats facts that almost everyone except crackpots accept. Those who have seen ghosts, dead relatives, and Bigfoot learn that eyewitness accounts are often unreliable. Tyson points out that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, so confirmation that a light in the sky represents an alien spacecraft requires more than a photograph. Again and again he defends “science,” and his criteria—observation, repeatable experiments, honest discourse, peer review—are not controversial but will remain easy for zealots to dismiss. Among the instances of “hate mail” and “science deniers,” the author also discusses philosophy, parenting, and schooling.
A media-savvy scientist cleans out his desk.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-324-00331-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
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