Rating: 
Summary: FUN BOOK to read
Review: This book was a very fun to read. I read the whole thing in a day. I couldn't put it down. Very spiritual, and intelligently written. He has a lot of insight into many of the issues of the times, and you might be surprised at his outlook. I would highly recommend this enjoyable book to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: He's a genius - and he'll be glad to tell you!!
Review: Entertaining insight into the mind of someone who's truly intelligent. I found it refreshing that he doesn't even try to hide his complete egocentric world view. This book encouraged me to think that each of us has a story to tell.
Rating:
Summary: Fun Romp Through Mind of Nobel Prize Winner
Review: One of the more entertaining and disparate collections of 'science' essays I've read in awhile, all from the meandering mind of Kary Mullis. His freewheeling and iconoclastic style often includes hysterical passages. Topics (or should I call them adventures) range from astrology, supernatural occurances, brown recluse spiders, and the OJ Simpson trial to more biochemistry-related (his field) subjects. His often unpredictable viewpoints are interesting, and rarely tied to scientific orthodoxy and his frequent rants against the scientific establishment and status quo are especially delicious coming from a highly honored Nobel Prize winner. Those looking for a solid scientific treatise should steer clear of this volume, but those just wanting an entertaining and somewhat thought-provoking read within a science context should enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Less Than The Sum of its Parts
Review: Many of the reviewers have expressed wonderment at how such an original person as Kary Mullis could exist. But surely Mr. Mullis is not the only person who's taken LSD, believed in astrology, thought he was saved by an astral traveler or been convinced he was abducted by aliens, so what gives?I think it's wonderful that he invented PCR. I'm happy that he is so hardcore about the scientific method. Yet he seems to banish all effort at critical thought when discussing his role in the O.J. Simpson trial. It's as if he's saying, "O.J. joked around with me, so it was impossible for him to be the killer." He also seems very credulous with New Age issues, such as his astral saviour, Katherine O'Keefe. I mean, how does someone moving along the astral plane (en route to visiting her mom), actually move something in the material world? He never even asks the question. Then there's the more troubling question, "How many astral travelers have watched me in the bathroom?" Alas, this weighty inquiry also goes unexamined. Perhaps Kary Mullis is just pulling our collective legs. The unfortunate thing is that we can never know thereafter when he's telling the truth. For example, in describing his unpleasant encounter with brown recluse spiders, he indicates that they kept coming back to feast on the necrotic ooze they created when they bit him. This would certainly be a new twist in spider behaviour! I've never seen anything in brown recluse literature to suggest that they -- or any other spider -- actually feed on humans. The book is a fun read, but far from being mind-altering, it tends to come across with the same unexamined 'rant' style one often finds on Usenet. It's good for humor here and there, and the stuff about HIV is worth considering, but overall, it doesn't teach me much.
Rating:
Summary: brilliant nutcase
Review: I picked up this book because of my fascination with PCR and my desire to know more about the history of the discovery. Actually, this book has very little to do with the polymerase chain reaction (but Paul Rabinow's "Making PCR: A Story of Biotechnology" filled that gap nicely for me). Instead, Mullis gives us a glimpse into his mind. At times he's too open; I don't really care about his lust for women or his drug use, but he's always unabashedly honest. He could easily be described as crazy; he refuses to subscribe to scientifically orthodox views that HIV causes AIDS or that the human race is resposible for global warming. The real reason I think this book is a winner is his humor and his gift of storytelling. Even though this book is nothing like what I expected it to be, I enjoyed it, mostly because it's a fun read, and even scientists can have fun.
Rating:
Summary: I hate science
Review: This book is amazing. I hate science. However, Mullis finds a way to tell you about his discoveries and experiences using humor. Finally, 30 years later, I understand what my chemistry teacher was talking about. Even if you do not want to learn anything, but want to read an extremely enjoyable book, then here you go. No time to sit and read a whole book? Well, each chapter can exist in and of itself. But I bet you read it in one sitting anyway. And then I bet you read it over and over again just because you enjoyed it so much the first time.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst book I've read in ages.
Review: It doesn't contain any interesting science, the 'alternative' stuff is pointless, the political views are mis-informed and self-contradicting, the writing gets progessively poorer to where the latter part of the book is hard to read, and I can't imagine that it would be any fun talking to the guy. I did draw one thing interesting from the book: There's no reason to assume that Nobel Prize winners are other than discovers of something that turned out to be really useful. Which left me a little disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Worst book I've read in ages.
Review: It's completely wretched. It doesn't contain any interesting science, the 'alternative' stuff is pointless, the political views are mis-informed and self-contradicting, the writing gets progessively poorer to where the latter part of the book is hard to read, and I can't imagine that it would be any fun talking to the guy - he seems loud and boring. I did draw one thing interesting from the book: There's no reason to assume that Nobel Prize winners are other than discovers of something that turned out to be really useful. Which leaves me a little disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A portrait of the scientist as a human being
Review: For those of you who know Don Cherry, I can only compare Mullis with that legendary hockey personality. They both let you know exactly what they think, no holds barred. Mullis' autobiography is well written, fascinating, and even infuriating at times. The central theme seems to be, "don't believe everything you hear". As a research scientist myself, I must strongly echo that sentiment. There are usually (and I am not exaggerating when I say >75%, at least in my field of chemistry) errors in the reports of scientific matters in the media, even from such reputable services as AP and CNN. Therefore, read this book, enjoy it, and don't believe any of it just because Mullis says it's so. Sure, I'll take his word for it if he says there's no definitive link between HIV and AIDS, but he didn't convince me atrology is real. Just mentioning these two diverse topics gives you a flavour for what it'll be like to enter the Mind Field.
Rating:
Summary: Dancing Naked in the mindfield
Review: A friend handed me this book and said I would like. He really wasn't familiar with my book preferences, but "that didn't matter", he said. He was right. After the first chapter, explaining his claim to fame, Mullis had me. I couldn't believe what his was saying. It was me and my way of thinking. He was an instant hero to me. It's true. It's eye opening. It parallels Seat of the Soul. It's funny. It's great, it's just great.
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