Genome

Rating:
Summary: A Cure for Media Madness
Review: In June of this year the prestigious Times of London headlined a story: 'Rogue gene kills Lakeland ponies'. GENOME attempts to forestall such misleading media expressions. Ridley, a talented writer, has his work cut out.

Once called 'the stupid molecule', DNA is revealing its secrets. The exposure is due to the work of many scientists and related to the public by fine writers such as Ridley. Still, we remain mostly in darkness about the role of genes in our lives. Media accounts such as The Times' bring little clarity. The recent debate among the members of Britain's ruling house is a more amusing, but typical, expression of this situation. Ignorance is a disease which no medicine relieves. Education is the antidote and Ridley has provided a palatable dose in GENOME. How many journalists, teachers and doctors are willing to swallow it?

The medical metaphor reflects the underlying theme of GENOME. Much genetic research focuses on medical issues. The biotech industry anticipates immense profit from therapies resulting from the completion of the Human Genome Project. Ridley cites numerous cases of genes being 'identified' with particular illnesses. In nearly all cases, the media trumpets the find with stories of 'genes for [schizophrenia, Huntington's haemophilia, fill in your own]. The public has come to feel these molecular strings in their cells are hidden assassins. The importance of reversing this misconception leads Ridley to declare GENES ARE NOT THERE TO CAUSE DISEASE throughout the book. One is led to wonder which gene drives people to write headlines protracting the reverse view.

Ridley keeps a fine balance in the 'genetic determinism' debate. His chapter on chromosome 10 provides a captivating account of the endless feedback loops between genes, their structure and role, and the impact of the environment on both. His ability to explain why we must avoid seeking simple answers and shed preconceptions ranks among the best in print. It will take an immense amount of research and talented scientists to trace the intricate pathways of these elements. As a journalist, he displays a good talent for explaining what is known, and what needs to be studied further.

His account of the Britain's 'mad cow disease' episode is perhaps the perfect example of why the world needs more Matt Ridleys. Panicky politicians, spurred on by 'shouting media' in both this and the GM food debate, responded hysterically to the cost of nearly two hundred thousand cattle and strained relations between Britain and the European Union. A responsible media might have tempered this disaster. The public needs to make informed decisions and it's a pity that the media continues to ignore the easily readable messages Ridley has provided in this book.

There are really only two flaws in GENOME. The notes need to be closer to the text. Page references are a start, but there's an awful lot of page flipping to see where the information is coming from. The glaring blemish is in the Index. This book is far too important to omit so many references to what is in the text. Phrase after phrase appears, and when wishing to review it later, discovered the term wasn't even listed. It is to be hoped this was a money-saving gesture on the part of the publisher, and not laziness of the author. That said, the value of the book is too great to allow such small faults to discourage even the most mildly interested reader. GENOME is about you and me. I've read it more than once and discussed it with many. Hopefully, more of you out there will follow that example.

Rating:
Summary: Obsessive
Review: This book is the most thrilling piece I have read in a long time. What thrills me most, I believe, is that I am infinitely connected to the information contained within the pages. I absolutely could not put this book down - (I even took it to work with me). Each chapter was as thrilling as the last, with all focusing on the blueprint of the human race. This book will give you a better understanding of not only yourself - but of how interconnected we all are. This book is very well written in a way that your "average joe" could pick it up and follow along without a doctoral degree. This book should be required reading for the human race. These pages will give you an appreciation of how improbable it is that you should have ever existed, and a respect for all human life. I have a better understanding of myself than I had imagined this book could give me.

Rating:
Summary: Great stuff here, but sometimes a tough read
Review: I didn't enjoy reading this book as much as I expected, but I picked-up a lot of interesting information from the book. The book is broken into 23 chapters, each with a fact about a gene on the chromosome being discussed. As the author describes the story, each chapter acts a whistle stop tour of the chromosome. It is certainly not a comprehensive tale of all that it known of the human Genome, rather it is a telling of those things that the author wants to relate, organized around the 23 chromosomes.

There's a real variety of information presented. Some of it mechanical, some of it historical, some of it antecdotal. I keep finding myself relaying information (or factoids) that I picked up from the book. So, from this perspective, I learned something and find myself reusing what I learned.

So far so good - right? Well, here's the criticism. I found the writing sometimes technical, the stories sometimes hard to follow, and the connecting of the dots by the author sometimes a stretch. As for the too technical objection - well, this is certainly understandable and what did I expect. The readability (or follow-ability) of the stories is another matter. Sometimes the stories are quite riveting and well-connected. Others, however, seem to follow tangents and have a tenuous relation to the chromosome.

The last criticism, where it seems that the author is connecting the dots, worried me some. I often realized that where I believed that I had been reading fact, I had actually been reading the authors ideas and conjecture. This would be fine were it clear that this is the case, but it wasn't always evident.

So, overall, I learned a great deal, but didn't always enjoy the book.

Rating:
Summary: Irresistible Reading to Understand What Your Genes Mean
Review: The field of genetics is doubling knowledge every few weeks. So MattRidley had set himself an impossible task in writing one of the lastbooks before the completion of the Human Genome project. Yet, he hascreated a book of unique value to all of us as the full impact ofgenetic knowledge begins to take over our world.

Forget 99 percentof what you have ever heard about genes. The school wasted your timewith obsolete knowledge that wasn't in the ball park, in mostcases.

What Ridley has done is given us a roadmap of the kind ofterritory and effects that occur within our genes, and among ourminds, bodies, and genes. The interrelationships are extremelycomplex and diverse. Beware any simple judgments about what geneticsmean, as a result.

What was most impressive to me was the remarkablepotential to use genetic information to shed light on all kinds ofissues. For example, the genetic record can give insights into thedevelopment of species, past expansion of nomadic peoples, language,personality, stress, memory, sex, instinct and the effect of theenvironment.

To give us each a full panoply of ideas aboutgenetics, he adopted the interesting structure of having one chapterabout each chromosome. The chapter is not exhaustive, but picks onone or a few aspects of what is known or is in the process of becomingknown.

Fear not! I never took biology, and know little biologicaljargon. Yet the book portrayed the ideas and information simply andclearly enough that I don't think I got lost anywhere.

The only partof the book that I did not like was a completely unsatisfactorydiscussion of what free will is in the last chapter. Skip that andyou'll enjoy the book a lot more.

How accurate is the book? In fivechapters, I had read source books or articles referred to by Ridley,and each was well chosen for what he was trying to do and scrupulouslydescribed. Of course, we are still up against the fact that we knowvery little on this whole subject.

This is the most stimulatingscience book that I have read in a long time. I even liked in betterthan The Selfish Gene, which I thought was a terrific book (which isalso referred to and discussed in this book).

I found that thebook stimulated a lot of new thinking on my part. Fifteen minuteswith the book led to four hours of conjecture on several occasions. Iliked that feature of the book.

Have a great time reading this bookand thinking about its implications for your own life!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Matt Ridley keeps it simple enough not to lose someone lacking a technical background. Extremely well written, I am eager to read more.

Rating:
Summary: A Peek Inside
Review: Reading Ridley's tales about our genes was like looking from the outside in at a Self, making the acquaintance of this [sometimes] enticing stranger who is me. Tales, theories and current discoveries reveal this character, in langage not weighed down with so much scientific-name dropping as to be intimidating. Believing intensely in the benefits and uses of gene research, he is also quick to warn the reader that, "The single-minded obsession of the genes to do the determining in their own body is our strongest bulwark against loss of freedom to external causes."

Rating:
Summary: A Swan Dive into Innerspace
Review: I was interested in the topic and saw a very favorable reviewof this book in The Wall Street Journal. Still, this subject could bedry as dust or bewilderingly detailed. So ... I borrowed it from thelocal library to cut my risk. Now I am ordering a copy from Amazon to have it handy as a reference (and I expect to use it often).

At each of the 23 chapters, I learned fascinating things about subjects I never expected to encounter in this book. It is the human genome's role in rich perspective. It is about what we do and do not know. It is about determinism and and external influence. It is about fathoming the immensity of knowledge yet to be gained. It is about 350 pages of a well crafted kaleidoscopic adventure in learning. You will want to have a reference copy handy.

I did find it curious that the author seemed to be writing as if his audience was going to be limited to the UK. I'll bet he is surprised to see it so well received in the unlettered colonies.

Rating:
Summary: Clear, clever writing. Very sensible approach.
Review: A review from the author of DREAMING YOUR REAL SELF: A PERSONAL APPROACH TO DREAM INTERPRETATION; and DREAM BACK YOUR LIFE: Transforming Dream Messages into Life Action--A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DREAMS, DAYDREAMS, AND FANTASIES.

When Carl Sagan passed away, I wished other scientists would step in to bring science to the public in an engaging, readable way and with Sagan's enthusiasm and hope. Matt Ridley's GENOME is a great read, taking an optimistic view of genetic research and its benefits to us all. While we worry about cloning and interfering with DNA, Ridley tells us what such research can mean to help us lead healthier lives while working within the limitations of the genes we have. I especially enjoyed his explanation that we have choices and are not determined solely by our genes. By knowing whatever genetic shortcomings we have, we are able to alter our diets, exercise, and education to compensate for them. I've read Ridley's other books as well-THE RED QUEEN and THE ORIGINS OF VIRTUE-and was intrigued by these evolutionary concepts and what they mean in our everyday lives. This is LIFE science indeed! Thank you.

Rating:
Summary: Another piece in the puzzle of life
Review: This is an excellent overview of current scientific discovery and argument regarding that inheritently common, but innately variable blueprint of 23 pairs of chromosones we all share.

Our knowledge of our genes is progressing at a rapid rate, so much so, that by the time I finish writing this sentence, our knowledge of the human genetic code has been updated. If you wish to know what kinds of things are being discovered, this book is a very good place to find it.

Matt Ridley devotes each chapter to one of our chromosones-23 in all, and describes some useful dicoveries and speculations regarding each. From such things as the ability to digest lactose, blood groups, cancer suppressors, 'instinct',intelligence, ethics, free will, allergies, aspects of language, ageing, sex, cloning, test tube babies, Mad Cow disease etc, he describes in a clever and clear way the discoveries being made in the field.

I would give the book 4 1/2 stars,(but there are no halves in these reviews), as no book is ever perfect, but a point to remember is no understanding of our world, or our genes themselves, is ever perfect either. But we can find pieces to the puzzle, useful and uplifting, and that is what this book is about.

Ridleys style is clear and clever, my only quibble is that he displays perhaps just a touch of arrogance, and a subtle air of bias. But give the author his due, an author is entitled to his opinions and leanings, what is important is that he generally makes it clear when he does so.

The book is highly recommended for both those familiar with the jargon, and those with enthusiastic minds who wish to learn about it.

Rating:
Summary: Far More Than Just About the Human Genome
Review: An absolute must read. If I could keep the knowledge gained from only ten books, this would be one of them. I learned far more than just human genetics. The obvious was covered, but by relating it to world history, behavior, psychology, anthropology and sociology, I have a far better understanding of the world and myself. The author's conversational and sometimes humorous approach made a difficult subject enjoyable while still highly informative. I did NOT find it "boring" or "self-serving" as some reviewers have suggesed.