DNA: The Secret of Life

This book was a lot of fun to read and I really felt like I learned a lot after I finished. The book talks about genetically modified food and how there was such an outcry by the public when it first came in to the market. People didn't want to eat "Frankestien food". He explains why many things people think are bad about recombinant DNA (putting the DNA of one organism into another) are just misconceptions and that there is more potential for good than bad when it comes to recombinant DNA. The book did get a little boring for me when it came to the chapter on the human genome project though, but that was the only chapter that wasn't interesting to me. Even people with a strong science schooling will learn things they did not know from this book. I am a third year biology major and learned a lot. There may be some parts that are difficult to understand if you haven't taken a few science classes, but the book is still worth reading. If you are a religious person you might get upset by this book because Watson treats evolution as truth and bases quite a bit of reasoning on it. He doesn't try to hide the fact that he is an atheist, but does criticize the religious a little with his tone. (I personally am not religious.)

This is a fascinating scientific tale of life's history told by one of science's champions - Dr. Watson. We are fortunate that he is also a gifted writer and story teller. This book is a scientific page turner and by the end of the first few chapters the reader realizes what all the excitement is about. It is an easy read and a good review for people with science background, for others the details might prove challenging but the big picture is certainly within grasp. With the sequencing of the human genome, many aspects of our lives has and will change, this book can help usher us into the new age by teaching us the basics so we can be "DNA literate". I am a clinical physician but this book has awakened the scientist in me. I highly recommend it.

The names of Watson & Crick are one of those things that just seems to stick in everyone's head no matter how little they paid attention in school (kind of like the term onomatopoeia) so of course seeing a book written about DNA by James Watson of Watson & Crick fame set alarms going off in my head. I had high expectations of the book because of the author's intimate acquaintance with the subject but they were all surpassed and furthermore I was surprised by how enjoyable a read this book was and how nonthreatening Watson, along with his coauthor Andrew Berry, was able to present his subject matter. The actual science in this book doesn't really go on beyond what one would lean in a freshman college or an advanced high school biology class but in presenting the science embedded in it's historical background DNA: The Secret of Life allows the reader to look at it again with new eyes, showing them not as the establish beachhead we believe those areas to be today but rather viewing them with the novelty and excitement they were initially greeted by. But the actual metabolic functions of life's most important structure, DNA, comprises only a fractional portion of this book with the majority instead devoting much of it to the questions that possessing such knowledge raises. Genetically altered crops, reproductive implications, the question of `ownership' of sequenced genetic information-these are the true questions of the book. Watson, while possessing a very strong since of what he believe to be right and wrong in these different areas manages to be unambiguous about his views while at the same time not coming across as too much of a zealous so as to seem intractable. Not only is this a great book by one of the most known names in the biological sciences but it is also written in a clear and engaging style which makes it such a great retreat to sit down and read for an afternoon.

Fifty years ago author and scientist James D. Watson helped launch an investigation into the phenomena of human DNA with publication of his now-famous "Double Helix" book: today he gives the first history of the genetic revolution from Mendel to human genome sequencing. Individual chapters consider the rise of molecular science, provide explanations of DNA processes and emerging new sciences surrounding genetics, and provides general-interest readers with a fine blend of science and social issues. This is an important survey and a "must" for school and community library Science and Biology collections.

This book has achieved a great feat: explaining genetics clearly without dumbing it down.