Cracking the Genome

January 1, 2001
The Human Genome Project, the effort to determine the full genetic composition of human beings, has consumed billions of dollars, involved thousands of scientists, captured the imaginations of millions of people and offered the promise of untold numbers of medical breakthroughs. Davies, founding editor of the journal Nature Genetics and author of Breakthrough: The Race to find the Breast Cancer Gene, does an impressive job of contextualizing the science within a political, economic and social framework, creating a lively tale as accessible to nonspecialists as it is to scientists. A quest for profits as well as accolades is shown to be an important force in shaping "what is, at the very least, an extraordinary technological achievement, and is at best perhaps the defining moment in the evolution of mankind." Most of the leading scientists involved, individuals such as James Watson, Nobel laureate and original director of the Human Genome Project; Francis Collins, Watson's successor; and J. Craig Venter, the entrepreneurial scientist who decided to compete with the publicly funded Human Genome Project using private money and untested computational methods, spoke openly with Davies about their hopes and desires. Davies does a fine job describing the basic molecular biology and genetics underlying the Project as well as many of the ways our newfound knowledge may be put to use, though he largely ignores the ethical considerations swirling around a lot of these options. (Jan.) Forecast: The Free Press hopes publication will coincide with the public joint release of the human genome sequence by the Human Genome Project and Craig Venter's Celera Genomics. Spurred by that burst of publicity, the same readers who put Matt Ridley's Genome on the New York Times paperback bestseller list may provide brisk sales of this title as well.

January 1, 2001
From its inception, the Human Genome Project has been described in epic, aggrandized terms. The search has been likened to the quest for the Holy Grail; the genome has been called the "Book of Life," written in the "Language of God." Behind the hyperbole, though, is the work of mortal scientists who possess the entire gamut of human virtues and flaws. This is their story. The cast of characters includes James Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA structure; Craig Venter, a maverick, entrepreneurial geneticist; and many others. Along the way, egos clashed, principles were debated, and money, power, and prestige became major issues--but in the end, science prevailed. Davies (Breakthrough: The Race To Find the Breast Cancer Gene), editor of Nature Genetics magazine, has an insider's perspective on the entire story, which he tells at a rapid, engaging pace. The author notes that, as impressive as sequencing the genome was, interpreting and applying what we have learned is the bigger task ahead. Still, this is "halftime" for the Human Genome Project, and informed lay readers who want to follow the second half should read this book.--Gregg Sapp, Science Lib., SUNY at Albany

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2001
Shuffling just four letters (A, C, G, and T, standing for the pertinent amino acids), DNA spells out billions of sequences that write our genes. Compiling the encyclopedia of such sequences was the object of intense competition between a geneticist-capitalist named J. Craig Venter and a federal scientist-bureaucrat named Francis Collins. Their race was judiciously declared a tie in a White House ceremony last year, which is also the culminating point of Davies' in-depth narrative of the contest as it developed in the 1990s. As editor of " Nature Geneticist," a journal spun off from Britain's prestigious " Nature," Davies published papers--"classics," he considers many of them--that advertised the progress toward identifying the genome's sequences. The technical aspects of the major developments are excellently mediated for general readers. Moreover, Davies accents the rivalry and animosity of the Venter-Collins race, confirming once again that science is as much about fame and wealth as about pure Feynmanian curiosity. An informative run-through of genetics since Crick and Watson's discovery of DNA in 1953.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)