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ccoelophysis's review against another edition
2.0
A history of genetics peppered throughout with the author's often condescending personal opinions on just about everything. Probably could have been half the length had he stuck to the facts and left his ego out of it. And just how many times do we need to hear about his white skin being at risk for cancer? Dude has issues. It's a thorough and fascinating history but I suspect you can get the same information from a much less biased book.
softboiled's review against another edition
4.0
I'm only writing this review because I don't want my friends to see my 4 star rating and think that I'm a fan of James Watson, haha.
Considering the things I know about him as a person, this book didn't annoy me as much as I thought it would. (Still can't help but suspect there was a great deal of editing to tone down the racism, sexism and general condescension found in his other work and public comments.)
Agreed with some bits about how politics and religion can get in the way of scientific progress but didn't agree with some of his solutions, especially the more radical proposals.
Gave it 4 stars because despite myself, I thought it was a pretty good overview of genetic history and subfields at time of publication.
Considering the things I know about him as a person, this book didn't annoy me as much as I thought it would. (Still can't help but suspect there was a great deal of editing to tone down the racism, sexism and general condescension found in his other work and public comments.)
Agreed with some bits about how politics and religion can get in the way of scientific progress but didn't agree with some of his solutions, especially the more radical proposals.
Gave it 4 stars because despite myself, I thought it was a pretty good overview of genetic history and subfields at time of publication.
davybaby's review
When I came across the audio version of this book at work, I was excited. I looked forward to gaining a more solid grasp of genetics, and the thought of learning it from Watson was even better. If I'm lucky, I thought, I'll hear it in the voice of one of the fathers of genetics (Watson and his colleague, Crick, were the discoverers of the double helix structure of DNA). He did indeed read the introduction, and it was as interesting as I thought it would be. However, my youthful joy was not to last.
Good books are supposed to teach you about yourself, and this book didn't disappoint. It taught me that, despite the best intentions, I am not built to understand science through audiobooks. Like when I tried [b:A Brief History of Time|3869|A Brief History of Time|Stephen Hawking|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1333578746s/3869.jpg|2192250], the reader's words just washed over me, and I would realize that I had been thinking about science in general, or a specific phrase he used that I like, or sandwiches, for the past ten minutes. Invariably I would chastise myself and pull myself back in, studiously listening and staunchly refusing to understand until I passed a remarkably interesting bit of roadkill on the highway.
Don't get me wrong: Watson's writing was fairly accessible, but without the ability to go back and reread a certain line that I didn't quite get, it was sort of like falling down a flight of stairs with roller skates on and my hands stuck in fishbowls.
Good books are supposed to teach you about yourself, and this book didn't disappoint. It taught me that, despite the best intentions, I am not built to understand science through audiobooks. Like when I tried [b:A Brief History of Time|3869|A Brief History of Time|Stephen Hawking|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1333578746s/3869.jpg|2192250], the reader's words just washed over me, and I would realize that I had been thinking about science in general, or a specific phrase he used that I like, or sandwiches, for the past ten minutes. Invariably I would chastise myself and pull myself back in, studiously listening and staunchly refusing to understand until I passed a remarkably interesting bit of roadkill on the highway.
Don't get me wrong: Watson's writing was fairly accessible, but without the ability to go back and reread a certain line that I didn't quite get, it was sort of like falling down a flight of stairs with roller skates on and my hands stuck in fishbowls.
karenangela_1's review against another edition
4.0
I found this really interesting and informative. I liked learning about the development of tests for different genetic diseasea and how the research for these is usually driven by the families most affected by the diseases. It was also an eye opener to find out just how common some of these diseases are.
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