wanderaven's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely fascinating. Although it wasn't intentional, I'm glad that I took an anatomy class right before reading this as it made it a bit easier to understand some of it. Even with this, there were bits that I skimmed, though that didn't make it any less fantastic.
_rosie_reads's review
informative
slow-paced
1.0
Content Warnings
Spoiler
mildly sexist, openly homophobic, dismissive of racism, and incredibly reductive language regarding gendermementomortis's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
a fun and informative read but since it’s a book from 2003 some of the information is a bit outdated the chapter on gender especially very much felt like a product of it’s time. Some chapters were more interesting than others and some were more dense with scientific information while some focused more on historical mutants. I think all genes and working biological structures should be named after video game characters, shout-out to sonic the hedgehog.
a fun and informative read but since it’s a book from 2003 some of the information is a bit outdated the chapter on gender especially very much felt like a product of it’s time. Some chapters were more interesting than others and some were more dense with scientific information while some focused more on historical mutants. I think all genes and working biological structures should be named after video game characters, shout-out to sonic the hedgehog.
kanarazu's review against another edition
5.0
I had to read this for my developmental biology class. I love the mixing of biology and history. It told the science in an easy to understand way. Some of the author's wording about sexuality and gender bugged me, though.
jlcepi's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
This book is meant perhaps for someone in genetics or studying the mutations of humanity. While interesting, someone not involved in biology so deeply like myself found the book not to be a page turner. It was a slow read. The author was great about explaining things nevertheless, I just didn’t have a deep interest in the subject.
dewey_the_composer's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
slow-paced
4.0
This is quite an interesting book. I do appreciate Leroi's ability to make complex ideas accessible without watering them down beyond use. Not only that, he's got a dry English wit that's not superfluous, but comes out often enought.
It's hard to separate some things this book is lacking from its age. This book was released in 2003, far before any large-scale discourse on transgender/agender identity occured. So maybe his discussion on gender is forgivable in the blindspot it leaves for dysmorphia. That being said, I am intrigued to see how the genetics he discussed fits in with the conversation.
I enjoyed this book. And I hope I retained at least 75% of what I just read.
It's hard to separate some things this book is lacking from its age. This book was released in 2003, far before any large-scale discourse on transgender/agender identity occured. So maybe his discussion on gender is forgivable in the blindspot it leaves for dysmorphia. That being said, I am intrigued to see how the genetics he discussed fits in with the conversation.
I enjoyed this book. And I hope I retained at least 75% of what I just read.
jessrock's review against another edition
4.0
Mutants is a study of many of the ways the human body can grow or develop differently. The book is fascinating, and there are some very well-chosen pictures (although I would have liked more pictures, given the wealth of conditions he discusses in the book, some of which can be difficult to visualize in one's head), but it has a tendency to become overly scientific - the age-old problem of authors not being able to commit to one audience, and trying to write for laypeople and scientists alike. The discussions of gene sequences, etc., can become tiresome, but they are always mercifully short. Overall a fascinating book, but more of a survey than an in-depth study.
audaciaray's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not a dumb lady. But science hasn't really ever been my thing (which is why it's funny that I teach my human sexuality course in a biology department). I've been wanting to read more science stuff but also a little apprehensive about it, so a book about genetic mutations with a cover as awesome as this one was just what I needed. There were pieces of the book that lost me a little bit in their attention to scientific detail, but overall the writing was sharp and often funny, as well as thoroughly thought provoking. The line between mutation and evolution is a thin one indeed, and that's just a piece of what made this book so intriguing. If you want to just dip into this book, you can totally read a chapter here and there. There isn't really a big thread through the whole book, so no reason to feel obligated to read cover to cover. Except that you just might want to read all of it - I did.
My absolute favorite chapter was the one about skin ("A Fragile Bubble"). Leroi teases out fascinating threads about race, culture, and the meaning of hair through this chapter. Plenty of food for thought.
The reason I didn't give the book more than three stars is that the chapter about sex made me kind of furious. There is some really beautiful writing in the chapter about intersex conditions, plus some great historical illustrations. But the underpinings of the chapter are fucked up: Leroi keeps using the word "gender" to mean the biological manifestation of reproductive organs. No. No. NO. Ugh - I really don't understand how competent (though I guess that's questionable) writers/researchers mix up sex and gender, especially in the biological context. Though there has been some (inconclusive) research about the link between gender identity and biological sex (the latter is the combination of hormones, chromosomes, and genitals - so the identified sex at birth doesn't always correspond to biology), gender is an innate sense of being, NOT explicitly biological. Point being, Leroi keeps writing "gender" when he should be using the word "sex" - and it made me want to scream. It also seems like he couldn't really flex his head around issues of queer identities and orientations, which is a pity in an otherwise pretty awesome book.
My absolute favorite chapter was the one about skin ("A Fragile Bubble"). Leroi teases out fascinating threads about race, culture, and the meaning of hair through this chapter. Plenty of food for thought.
The reason I didn't give the book more than three stars is that the chapter about sex made me kind of furious. There is some really beautiful writing in the chapter about intersex conditions, plus some great historical illustrations. But the underpinings of the chapter are fucked up: Leroi keeps using the word "gender" to mean the biological manifestation of reproductive organs. No. No. NO. Ugh - I really don't understand how competent (though I guess that's questionable) writers/researchers mix up sex and gender, especially in the biological context. Though there has been some (inconclusive) research about the link between gender identity and biological sex (the latter is the combination of hormones, chromosomes, and genitals - so the identified sex at birth doesn't always correspond to biology), gender is an innate sense of being, NOT explicitly biological. Point being, Leroi keeps writing "gender" when he should be using the word "sex" - and it made me want to scream. It also seems like he couldn't really flex his head around issues of queer identities and orientations, which is a pity in an otherwise pretty awesome book.