raychan18's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read. It informed without boring and explained complex ideas simply. It was utterly fascinating and I can't wait to read his other book(s)
eldiente's review against another edition
4.0
30 years ago, I anticipated a career as a laboratory scientist in the up and coming field of bioengineering. This book was a nice trip back to some of the basics of genetics and DNA I learned then. Knowledge has increased dramatically since then.
I enjoyed the book (not as the author's earlier book about the periodic table of elements) and would recommend it to anyone with a basic biology background.
I enjoyed the book (not as the author's earlier book about the periodic table of elements) and would recommend it to anyone with a basic biology background.
labocat's review against another edition
4.0
It's odd going back to this after so many others of Kean's books, as well as going back in time. Even just a decade earlier, hearing some mindsets and scientific discoveries discussed in this day and age sometimes feels like a misstep. It's still organized well and with Kean's customary wit, but it's clear it's an earlier novel, even as it throws into sharp relief just how quickly the field of genetics and biotechnology is moving.
tilikon's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.5
kblincoln's review against another edition
5.0
Sam Kean writes deep science so that even lit lovers like me both understand and are engaged by it. His gift is taking the lives of people; scientists, Neanderthals, strange genetic cases, cat-hoarders, Abraham Lincoln, Paganini, and many others to weave a story of DNA and the history of genetics in an irreverent, illuminating way.
If you want to know how polar bear liver can peel your skin, discover possible post-humous diagnoses for Abraham Lincoln and Einstein, find out which of Thomas Hunt Morgan's "fly boys" was a lothario, hear gossip about what humans and Neanderthals got up to during cold nights in prehistoric Earth and the evidence left in our DNA to prove it, and learn about the nun who discovered "jumping" genes, this is the book for you.
Always readable, often snarky (on Neanderthal-human interaction: "Boys eyed girls, tyrannical hormones took over, and pretty soon little humanderthals were running around") and the science of chromosones, genes, DNA/RNA, and mutations presented in completely digestible-sized bits, I love his writing.
It makes me feel well-read and smart while satisfying the need for salacious gossip. And as Kean did in Disappearing Spoon, this book takes well known scientists such as Darwin and Watson/Crick and makes them human-- explaining some of their drive for science in terms of their personalities and backgrounds in ways that make even scientific juggernauts sympathetic and understandable.
Excellently done. Recommended for anyone.
If you want to know how polar bear liver can peel your skin, discover possible post-humous diagnoses for Abraham Lincoln and Einstein, find out which of Thomas Hunt Morgan's "fly boys" was a lothario, hear gossip about what humans and Neanderthals got up to during cold nights in prehistoric Earth and the evidence left in our DNA to prove it, and learn about the nun who discovered "jumping" genes, this is the book for you.
Always readable, often snarky (on Neanderthal-human interaction: "Boys eyed girls, tyrannical hormones took over, and pretty soon little humanderthals were running around") and the science of chromosones, genes, DNA/RNA, and mutations presented in completely digestible-sized bits, I love his writing.
It makes me feel well-read and smart while satisfying the need for salacious gossip. And as Kean did in Disappearing Spoon, this book takes well known scientists such as Darwin and Watson/Crick and makes them human-- explaining some of their drive for science in terms of their personalities and backgrounds in ways that make even scientific juggernauts sympathetic and understandable.
Excellently done. Recommended for anyone.
carrie562's review against another edition
2.0
UPDATE: I couldn’t help myself; I got the audiobook and finished it. The problem really is that the tone is all over the place. There is no clear sense of what the book is trying to do, or who the reader is. Sometimes he gets deep in the genetic weeds - I enjoy those parts - and sometimes he goes for cheap laughs and juvenile humor. There’s no through-line connecting the narrative from start to finish; it’s kind of all over the place, like a set of quirky “did you know?” anecdotes that (usually) relate back to genetics in some way.
7/8/23 It's time for me to admit defeat. As a genetics writer, I wanted to read this for professional reasons, but it's just not working for me. The attempts at humor often came across as forced and juvenile. There's no organizing principle running through the chapters, although I found some of the historical stories very interesting. He finally lost me for good in the chapter describing a Soviet project aiming to create a human-chimpanzee hybrid, in which he repeatedly refers to chimps as "monkeys." No, no, NO! That level of inaccuracy is not acceptable in a book purportedly about biology.
7/8/23 It's time for me to admit defeat. As a genetics writer, I wanted to read this for professional reasons, but it's just not working for me. The attempts at humor often came across as forced and juvenile. There's no organizing principle running through the chapters, although I found some of the historical stories very interesting. He finally lost me for good in the chapter describing a Soviet project aiming to create a human-chimpanzee hybrid, in which he repeatedly refers to chimps as "monkeys." No, no, NO! That level of inaccuracy is not acceptable in a book purportedly about biology.
simlish's review against another edition
2.0
DNF at 71%. I was sunk cost fallacying my way to finishing this book and then I realized that's a stupid way to use my one wild and precious life. Incredibly shallow pop science and weird about women in a big way.
dajna's review against another edition
3.0
I like Sam Kean, I like how he explain things, but this book has been a little too difficult due to my non-scientific background. It still worth reading, though.