Rating: 
Summary: A Crawford-esque Reference Book
Review: To paraphrase Jessica Rabbit, and that's going back a-ways, I know -- Some books are just made better than others. Perhaps by a fluke mutation -- the mixture of current events and good writing (Ridley stars at making hard science easy reading, a mean feat for sure) -- the book Genome was destined for stardom at birth. Granted, it's got some faults -- Ridley shows himself to be a total Anglophile, to perhaps the expense of good scientific history. He writes a bit too glibly about the subject matter for a journalist, without always laying the foundation for his many hypotheses. But both of these are rather akin to worrying about a zit on Cindy Crawford's wonderful face. Because, with this book, or I would imagine with Cindy Crawford, you win in so many other ways. The discussion of the TP53 gene -- the one whose job is to prevent cancer -- in Chapter 17 is simply eye-shattering, and the discussions about the cause of homosexuality are enlightening as well. From eugenics to cloning, Ridley examines and writes about each issue like it was an old girlfriend -- you may not know everything, but you certainly know enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Learning What You Will Need to Know About Your Genes!
Review: Many people describe the work in decoding the genome to be the beginning of the most important work ever done in science. Are you prepared? The field of genetics is doubling knowledge every few weeks. So Matt Ridley had set himself an impossible task in writing one of the last books before the completion of the Human Genome project. Yet, he has created a book of unique value to all of us as the full impact of genetic knowledge begins to take over our world. Forget 99 percent of what you have ever heard about genes. The school wasted your time with obsolete knowledge that wasn't in the ball park, in most cases. What Ridley has done is given us a roadmap of the kind of territory and effects that occur within our genes, and among our minds, bodies, and genes. The interrelationships are extremely complex and diverse. Beware any simple judgments about what genetics mean, as a result. What was most impressive to me was the remarkable potential to use genetic information to shed light on all kinds of issues. For example, the genetic record can give insights into the development of species, past expansion of nomadic peoples, language, personality, stress, memory, sex, instinct and the effect of the environment. To give us each a full panoply of ideas about genetics, he adopted the interesting structure of having one chapter about each chromosome. The chapter is not exhaustive, but picks on one or a few aspects of what is known or is in the process of becoming known. Fear not! I never took biology, and know little biological jargon. Yet the book portrayed the ideas and information simply and clearly enough that I don't think I got lost anywhere. The only part of the book that I did not like was a completely unsatisfactory discussion of what free will is in the last chapter. Skip that and you'll enjoy the book a lot more. How accurate is the book? In five chapters, I had read source books or articles referred to by Ridley, and each was well chosen for what he was trying to do and scrupulously described. Of course, we are still up against the fact that we know very little on this whole subject. This is the most stimulating science book that I have read in a long time. I even liked in better than The Selfish Gene, which I thought was a terrific book (which is also referred to and discussed in this book). I found that the book stimulated a lot of new thinking on my part. Fifteen minutes with the book led to four hours of conjecture on several occasions. I liked that feature of the book. Have a great time reading this book and thinking about its implications for your own life! Where will you have more potential in the future?
Rating:
Summary: Do you want to know more about yourself?
Review: In the year 2000, we were pleasantly surprised by the joint announcement by President Clinton and British Prime minister Mr. Blair, about the finishing of the Human Genome sequencing. Before that the cloned sheep Dolly greeted us in 1998 with surprise, awe, and fear of the future. It seems that a cure for Cancer might be very close to us. We also often hear about the African mother, who mothered all human beings. We hear about tests that doctors do, on pregnant women, using their amniotic fluid to predict down syndrome in the babies. We hear on TV arguments on bioethics, on testing for genetic diseases before birth, gene therapy, cloning of live beings, and so many other issues these days. If you are intrigued by these, read this book. The author Matt Ridley is excellent in making a 23 chapters history of human Genomics, each chapter concentrating on a particular human chromosome, and describing a few important identified or semi-identified genes on those chromosomes. He portrays the history of the discovery of the gene, the arguments on the role of a particular gene in specific disease, character traits, and so on. In this uncanny lucid style, he brings together history, genetics, social theories, anthropology and many other esoteric knowledge in the confines of this great book. He talks about Watson and Crick's discovery of the double helix structure on one hand, on the other hand, Mendel's breeding mechanism, and seemingly indivisible charateristics of hereditary traits, and reconciliation of that with the Darwin's natural selection theory. He talks about diseases, and their genetic origins, support of geneological anthropology through genetics, Eugenics and history of Eugenic laws, and the cruelty associated in the history, and the basic human natures, such as freewill, social instincts, learning, and so on, in such a seamless manner, that it ends up making you know yourself a little better!
Rating:
Summary: Genome
Review: This was a really great book, im only a 9th grader,and i understood most of it, the author gives you examples in reall life, so it is easy to read. I recommend a little background in genetics before reading this though
Rating:
Summary: Genome--Good Introduction to Genetics
Review: As a social scientist, I am always searching for the link between nature and nurture. Matt Ridley's book Genome is a great peoce to the puzzle. The book describes the history and essence of human genes, as well as their functions on both a micro and macro level. Ridley successfully weaves his way through the jargon of hard science and cuts to the heart of the matter in simple, easy-to-read language. The book in an informative introduction to the functions of genomes and the history of the science that got us there. A fascinating book. A highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Good genetics, bad sociology
Review: I liked this book a lot. It gives a clear, simple overview of how genes work -- one example is the very short, lucid definitions of "exon" and "intron" that get the point across without being tedious or complicated. But the book is way too uncritical of sociobiology, "selfish genery" and gene selection. Darwin, Wallace, Fisher, Wright, Mayr and Dobzhansky described evolution very well without ever bothering with the concept of "gene selection," and as for sociobiology -- well, the reviews and responses are out there. Sociobiologists tend to know a lot of biology and little or no cultural anthropology or sociology. Ridley and his hero, Dawkins, ought to actually sign up for some sociology courses. They might learn something.
Rating:
Summary: The best genetics book of the year
Review: If you have wondered about the genetics revolution and not known how to find out "what it all means," this book is the place to start. Transcending the genre of science writing, Ridley has elevated what is a dry technical subject in others' hands to a lively, cocktail-party-idea-drenched entertaining volume that will involve any reader. Musings on human nature do not devolve into lengthy handwringing over runaway technology or over-wraught worries about The Political Implications of It All, as do too many other books on this subject. (As the editor of a genetics web site, believe me, I've read plenty of the other books.) Start with this book - you won't be disappointed - and you will be informed. Ridley has turned a mountain of data into poetry and wisdom. No wonder the NYTimes named it one of the top 5 nonfiction books of the year 2000.
Rating:
Summary: A masterful piece of divulgative science
Review: This is the book for all those of us who gets confused reading of codons,introns,and impossible technical genetic jargon.Here you have a clear,brilliantly exposed resume' of the state of the art in genetic research...and of the dramatic ethical issues that genetic knowledge is raising.The objective,dispassionate but serene way in which these issues are enucleated is another reason who made me like this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great for scientific minds
Review: I realy enjoyed this book and felt that I learned a lot about genetics and humanity by reading it. It was fascinating, enlightening, and informative. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about evoulution, the human genome project, and genetics in general. However, I do have two minor criticisms about Ridley's writing style. He makes a valiant effort to express difficult scientific concepts in lay-terms, but he misses the mark somtimes. Maybe I have been out of school too long, but there were a few scientific sections that I didn't understand even after two re-readings. I ended up taking Ridley's word for it on those points. The second criticism I have is that Ridley makes some arguments where he all but completely dismisses opposing theories. Several times he says, 'those scientists were ridiculous and misguided' (though admittedly in more eloquent terms than that). At those times, I felt like I was hearing the subjective view of an arrogant author rather than a well-formulated dissection of the various theories and why they are valid or unfounded. For example, at one point, I recall him writing about the results of on particular recent experiment where the researchers did not offer an explanation of their results. He just mentions that in passing, where I would expect a thorough author to contact the researchers directly for more information about their research.
Rating: 
Summary: Genetics, but with a twist...
Review: This is an easy read, and the chapter structure is clever. Ridley comes across as a reductionist, but there is plenty for everyone in this book. The amusing story of the discovery of humans' 24 chromosome pairs -- an idea which originated in 1921, and didn't die out until 1955, two years after the double helix was identified, and despite photos showing 23 pairs with incorrect captions -- is recounted by Ridley, but the significance of this interlude seems to be lost on him. Orangutans, gorillas, and chimps have 24 pairs, and at least as long ago as the 19th century chimps have been asserted as the closest living relative of the human (including by Darwin himself). That such a belief would color the judgement of scientists is not surprising -- scientists are only human. See also "Darwin's Black Box" by Michael Behe, Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? by Jonathan Wells, Jody F. Sjogren, and The Battle of Beginnings by Del Ratzsch.
| 
