Rating: 
Summary: Brings the Genome Alive in Story-Like Fashion
Review: REVIEW: This book gives basic genetic lessons in 23 short chapters told in story-like format that are interesting and at times entertaining. For a number of years, I've wanted to understand the basics of the genome, but I didn't want to have to study a textbook. This book is the perfect solution. In explaining the genome, heridity, evolution and related issues, the author uses familiar examples, like cancer, alzheimer's disease, and mad cow disease, etc. (but the book isn't just about diseases). Ridley is expert at using analogies and at giving just enough detail so that the lay person understands his basic points yet appreciates much of the complexity of the genome and its operation. While you won't be able to run a genetics experiment after reading this book, you will have a much better appreciation of the effects that our knowledge of the genome will have on our future. Very highly recommended for those interested in the field.STRENGTHS: The book is not a text book. The chapters are relatively short and easy to read. The author is excellent at using analogy for increasing understanding of difficult/complex material. Writing style and depth of content perfectly match the target audience. WEAKNESSES: The book would have benefited greatly from some graphics (at least my version of the book didn't have them). Some readers may be put off by a reacurring sub-topic in the book that discusses philosophical and ethical issues of our exploration of the genome (however, I also found this discussion interesting). While there is minimal use of technical words, a glossary would also have been helpful too. WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Everyone that is not an expert in genetics and would like to understand the basics of the genome, heredity, evolution and related issues. Those who refuse to believe that our genes play a major role in who we are and how we behave (including personality) will either be converted or will probably dislike what this book has to say.
Rating:
Summary: Great Science Writing
Review: This is one of the best science books I've read. It presents a broad range of biology in a very readable form, in enough detail to get you started and with a good set of references for anyone who wants to learn more. Although it is written for general readers, many scientists will learn something new.
I especially like that Ripley discusses a variety of different views, for example the heretical notion that bacteria are really descended from more complex (eucaryotic) organisms, rather than the reverse. Too often books which popularize science present it almost as revealed truth. Although Ripley's fast-paced presentation oftens seems a bit too heroic in tone, he makes it clear that there are competing interpretations of evidence and that the process of discovery continues to lead us down unexpected paths. This book is written with a sense of excitement and vitality which perfectly fits the subject.
Rating: 
Summary: excellent
Review: this book held my attention and got me excited about genetics. it really puts some neat ideas about how your body works in layman's terms. it's a great and easy read, something to keep around the house or read in a weekend.
Rating:
Summary: Good popularizing book
Review: I bought this as an Amazon recommendation. Wow! all
that fancy software they have does work! I am not a genetics expert and I read some reviews saying
that there are errors in the book, but be that as it may,
I found this to be a facinating subject that was explained
in a very novel and interesting way. That 23 vs 24 debate that some say is the biggest mistake, I
thought he explained that in the opening chapter. As a book that made me think about genes and the Human
Genome Project, I think this book succeeds wonderfully. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay
Review: This is an often interesting, readable book. But the author just uses the genome foundation to write often arbitrary essays on human beings. It's not really as advertised. And he's really opinionated at times. He makes the claim that lactose tolerant groupings of people WILLED their genes to become lactose tolerant. (I'd like to will my DNA to need no sleep...)That's a really outrageous claim. And in the final chapter, 22, on free will, he is so adamant that parents have NOTHING to do with how a child develops emotionally, that it is all PEER pressure and genes that shape a child...he sounds like a parent who has problem children and is desperate to point the finger at anyone but himself. He sites a study that showed STEP-children of abusers did not abuse their own children, showing that abusers got the tendency to abuse from their abusing parents only genetically. Okay. But what about the link between people suffering from multiple personality disorder invariably being the victims of child abuse? Is multiple personality disorder purely a genetic phenomenon? Mr. Ridley would argue it is. But the evidence is that multiple personality disorder is a result of abuse. I mean there is BROAD and solid documentation of parents shaping a child's emotional life. If parents didn't, then we should never feel sorry for orphans. But the author SINCERELY claims that children shape the emotional lives of their parents more than the other way around. The fact is the human childhood is so long, compared to other animals, BECAUSE the child needs shaping by his parents. And when that shaping goes awry...the parents can be to blame. Chapter 22 basically gives parents permission to be really really really lousy parents, and not to feel bad...because if the kids end up in rehab: hey, you had nothing to do with it! You can beat your kid daily, but if he grows up to have no self-esteem...it's not your fault! Isn't that great? Not to get too dramatic--well, I have already--but the final chapter was a little reckless! But, hey, the rest of the book has some fascinating stuff. However, as there is junk DNA in our genomes, there are junk paragraphs in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Informational, well written and fun to read
Review: As a lay person interested in learning more about genetics than what I had learnt in high-school biology, I found Genome easy and fascinating to read. In Genome, Matt Ridley found a fun way to present what is certainly a complicated scientific subject as a 23-chapter novel -- one for each of the human chromosomes. He's a great storyteller. The book's bibliographical notes are very useful in directing the interested reader to additional good books and references on genetics.
Rating:
Summary: Great Primer on Genetics
Review: Written so the layperson (like me) can understand it, Ridley has provided a tremendous overview of the status of genetic research. With the mapping of the Human Genome, scientific advances in genetics will certainly skyrocket and this is a great place to start if you want some underlying knowledge and understanding about where we're headed in this field.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful overview of our wacky DNA
Review: As a scientist, I must say that this was one of the most interesting non-fiction science books I have ever encountered. Mr. Ridley has a rare virtue not often bestowed on scientists to explain the technical world in a way that a non-technical person can grasp and learn concepts without getting an additional degree in genomics. Throughout the book, he addresses each chromosome separately and then ties the concepts together by giving examples of how each gene might interact with others to make the human being as a whole. Although a lot of the writing is part theory/part fact, I highly recommend it to those who want to learn a little more about the stuff with which we are made.
Rating:
Summary: Food for thought
Review: With all the other reviews, you have the details. What I want to add is that -- regardless of whether you agree with the author's conclusions or perspective -- this book will make you ponder the world and its future. This is a book to reread and to give to friends who enjoy a thoughtful book. Even if you're not scientifically minded, it will be worth your while.
Rating:
Summary: The #1 book on the human genomre for the non-scientist
Review: Popular science books written by non-scientists (Ridley is a journalist, not a scientist) can be horrible or excellent. At their worse, they distort the science and mislead the public. At their best, they show the importance and excitement of the field in question. Most scientists, even if they feel very strongly that their field is important and exciting, lack the literary skills to describe it to the public in a way that does justice to their convictions. Ridley's book is in the "excellent" category. Ridley's method of telling us about the genome is brilliant - and unique, as far as I can tell. Ridley divides his book into 23 chapters, one for each (pair of) chromosome. He then chooses one interesting gene on that chromosome, and tells us a story about it. Ridley chose his "stars" wisely. Each gene he chose has a "hook" - a reason why knowing about it would interest us. One is the supposed "intelligence gene" which is found much more frequently among people with very high IQ. Does this means our genes determine our intelligence? Another is the gene that determines out blood type. Since having a specific blood type does not seem to give any obvious advantages over the other blood types, why did different blood types evolve at all? A third gene might hold the key for both immortality - and cancer. Can we get one without the other? You will find the answer to these and 20 other (uniformly interesting) questions in the book. Even the most interesting subject matter, however, is worthless without good writing. Ridley does not disappoint here; his writing is superb, on three different counts. First, his sober and responsible presentation is very careful to distinguish between sensational claims made about our genome (e.g. "intelligence is genetically determined") and the far, far different reality of the situation. Second, he manages to convey to the layman reader the exciting, puzzle-solving essence of scientific reseach and discovery. Genetic research, in real life, is very similar to what fictional detectives do in detective novels - only more important. We *know* disease X (e.g., "the killer") is somehow connected to chromozome Z, but HOW? And if we think we know how, can we prove it in a court of law - or that of the scientific community? Finding out is out mission. Lives are, quite literally, at stake. Third, Ridley shows us the critical importance of "pure research", research done for the sake of knowledge, not due to any practical applications. Very often, the key discovery which lead, years and decades later, to the identification of a critical gene that causes a certain disease (for example), was done by someone who had not the slightest interest in finding a cure for the disease, but merely intereted in knowledge about genes for its own sake. In summary, this is a superbly written book about exciting subject matter.
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