BIOLOGY 350 BOOK REVIEW CHOICES

FALL 2007

1) Ackerman, J. (2001). Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity. Houghton Mifflin.Scientists have discovered that all living things, from yeasts to worms to humans, are guided by similar genes and proteins, which have passed down nearly intact for hundreds of millions of years. At the most fundamental level, humans are genetically linked to every part of the natural world. This book concerns the continuity and discontinuity of cellular, molecular, existence.

2) Bainbridge, D. (2003). The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives. Harvard Univ. Pr. David Bainbridge shows how the X evolved and where it and its counterpart Y are going, how it helps assign developing human babies their sex--and maybe even their sexuality--and how it affects our lives in infinitely complex and subtle ways. X offers cures for disease, challenges our cultural, ethical, and scientific assumptions about maleness and femaleness, and has even reshaped our views of human evolution and human nature.

3) Bishop, Jerry E. (1990). Genome: the story of the most astonishing scientific adventure of our time–the attempt to map all the genes in the human body. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. This book tells about the attempt to identify all the genes in the human body, and the difficulties the scientists face in their attempts to map the human genome.

4) Black, E. (2003). War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race. Four Walls Eight Windows. This is the story of America’s century-long attempt to create a master race. Based on selective breeding of human beings, eugenics began in laboratories on Long Island, but it ended in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. Ultimately, over 60,000 "unfit" Americans were coercively sterilized. Black goes on to trace the evolution of eugenic thinking as it evolves into what is now called genetics.

5) Burr, Chandler. (1996). A Separate Creation: The search for the biological origins of sexual orientation. New York: Hyperion. This book is about research into a possible biological or genetic basis for homosexuality. Size differences in the hypothalamus of gay versus straight men, as well as discussion about a “gay gene” on the X chromosome are discussed in this book.

6) Carroll, Sean B. (2006) The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution. WW Norton.

7) Chiu, Lisa Seachrist (2006) When a Gene Makes You Smell Like a Fish: And Other Tales about the Genes in Your Body. Trimethlaminuria, otherwise known as fish odor syndrome, was a devastating condition whose origin, until recently remained a mystery. This book focuses on not only on odd genetic effects; bust also the many less-dramatic traits attributable to genetics. Oxford University Press.

8) Committee on Biological & Biomedical Application (Edt.). (2002). Stem Cells and the Future of Regenerative Medicine. Natl. Academy Pr. (ISBN 0309076307) This book provides an exploration of the biological, ethical, and funding questions prompted by the therapeutic potential of undifferentiated human cells. The book summarizes what we know about adult and embryonic stem cells, and provides an overview of the moral and ethical problems that arise from the use of embryonic stem cells.

9) Cranor, Carl F. (1994). Are Genes Us?: the social consequences of the new genetics. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. This book is a collection of papers that address some of the social, political, and philosophical issues associated with current research in molecular genetics.

10) Davies, K. (2002). Cracking the Genome: Inside the Race to Unlock Human DNA. Johns Hopkins Univ Pr. In 2001, two rival teams of scientists shared the acclaim for sequencing the human genome. This is the story of one of the greatest scientific feats ever accomplished: the sequencing of the human genome. Davies sheds light on the secrets of the sequence, highlighting the myriad ways in which genomics will impact human health for the generations to come.

11) Dawkins, Richard. (1995). River out of Eden: a Darwinian view of life. New York, NY: Basic Books. Because of Dawkins extensive knowledge in these issues, his writing is very clear and understandable for the reader. The word “river” in the title refers to our DNA as it flows from generation to generation.

12) Dawkins, Richard. (1989). The Selfish Gene. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. In The Selfish Gene, Dawkins explains how the selfish gene revolves around savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit, and yet, Dawkins argues, acts of apparent altruism do exist in nature. Bees, for example, will commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, and birds will risk their lives to warn the flock of an approaching hawk.

13) DeSalle Rob and Yudell, Michael (2005) Welcome to the Genome: A User’s Guide to the Genetic Past, Present, and Future. A story that starts with the adventures of Mendel and Morgan and leads through to the race to sequence DNA. Readers lean how genomic information is changing our world view- from the family trees of whales to the development of new drugs. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

14) Drlica, Karl. (1994). Double-edged sword: the promises and risks of the genetic revolution. Reading, Mass.: Addison Wesley. An intriguing book of the genetic evolution, Drlica has written this in a very informative manner but has managed to keep it in a simple format. This is a must for anyone interested in ethical decisions of the genetic revolution.

15) Drlica, Karl. (1997). Understanding DNA and Gene Cloning: a guide for the curious. New York: Wiley.This book explains the fundamental principles of DNA biology at a level that does not require knowledge of chemistry. This edition adds questions for discussion, an expanded glossary, an expanded list of additional readings, and several new topics, among them a discussion of retroviruses--viruses that cause cancer and AIDS.

16) Fine, Edith Hope. (1998). Barbara McClintock: Nobel Prize Geneticist. Springfield, NJ: Enslow Publishers. This book surveys McClintock's childhood and youth, her struggles as a woman scientist, her decades of research into the genetics of maize, and her attitudes toward the recognition (memberships in scientific societies, honorary degrees, and prestigious awards) bestowed upon her late in her life.

17) Gee, H. (2004). Jacob’s Ladder: The History of the Human Genome. WW Norton. Jacob's Ladder explains what the sequencing of the human genome really tells us. Decoding the sequence is just the beginning. Gee tells the story of what we know about the genome today and what we are likely to discover tomorrow.

18) Hall, S. (2003). Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension. Houghton Mifflin. (Order from UMFK or UMM). Hall gives an account of the high-stakes science of life extension. The author discusses Leonard Hayflick, and his human cell line called WI-38, which opened the gates for biotech research and showed that our cells may have built-in limitations on longevity.

19) Hamer, Dean H. (1999). Living with Our Genes: why they matter more than you think. New York: Doubleday. Living With Our Genes will help readers understand their particular genetic make-up and decipher the mysteries of genetically inherited behavioral traits. Chapters are organized by various traits or characteristics so that readers can quickly turn to the issues most pressing in their lives, whether it's body weight or moodiness.

20) Inman, Keith. (1997). An introduction to forensic DNA analysis. Boca Raton: CRC Press. An Introduction to Forensic DNA Analysis, Second Edition translates new and established concepts into plain English so that laypeople can gain insight into how DNA analysis works, from sample collection to interpretation of results. The authors also present key decisions and appellate or supreme court rulings that provide precedent at the state and federal levels.

21) Jones, Steve. (2003). Y: The Descent of Men. Houghton Mifflin. This book tells the story of the search for the nature of manhood, and of the recognition that the ancient view of females as diminished males has been reversed.

22) Keller, Evelyn Fox. (1983). A Feeling for the Organism: the Life and Work of Barbara McClintock. San Francisco: Freeman. Barbara McClintock was one of the premier investigators in cytology and classical genetics, but her work was pushed out of the mainstream by the revolution in molecular biology in the middle of this century. A Feeling for the Organism, gives us the full story of McClintock's pioneering—although sometimes professionally difficult—career in cytology and genetics.

23) Keller, Evelyn Fox. (2000). The Century of the Gene. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. In this book, Keller argues that the gene will not serve the 20^th century science as well as it has in the past. She does not exclude the gene yet says it is a mere player in the game of life. Harper Collins.

24) Kessler, Andy. (2006) The End of Medicine: How Silicon Valley (and Naked Mice) Will Reboot Your Doctor. You get sick; you go to your doctor. Too bad. Because medicine isn't an industry, it's practically witchcraft. Despite the growth of big pharmacy, HMOs, and hospital chains, medicine remains the isolated work of individual doctors—and the system is going broke fast.

25) Kirby, Lorne T. (1992). DNA fingerprinting: an introduction. New York: W. H. Freeman. A practical guide to basic principles and laboratory methods of this new technique as applied to a variety of fields including forensic analysis, paternity testing, medical diagnostics, animal and plant sciences, and wildlife poaching.

26) Lurquin, Paul F. (2002) High Tech Harvest: Understanding Genetically Modified Food Plants. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. The author is a biologist who has written this book about the scientific issues of genetic engineering in today’s food supply. He tells the story of how humans have manipulated agricultural products for tens of thousands of years by cross breeding grains, the discoveries of Gregor Mendel, and the consequent development of genetic engineering of food plants to make them better able to feed the world.

27) Lyon, Jeff. (1986). Altered fates, the promise of gene therapy: Examination of the Revolution. Chicago, IL: Chicago Tribune Company. This book tells the story of Dr. Anderson and Dr. Rosenburg’s experiments and how they came to be understood. These two doctors worked on procedures dealing with genetically altered cells and their use in humans.

28) Maddox, Brenda. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. New York: HarperCollins. This book tells Rosalind Franklin’s story and how her fame was taken from her. Franklin’s x-ray photographs clearly showed the structure of DNA, but unlike Watson and Crick, she was not recognized for her contributions until much later. Maddox gives us a look into Franklin’s work as well as the many battles she had to fight.

29) Maienschein, J. (2003). Whose View of Life?: Embryos, Cloning, and Stem Cells. Harvard University Press. Maienschein puts the question of when life begins in historical and philosophical context, including current science and policy.

30) Martineau, B. (2001). First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Foods. New York: McGraw-Hill. Martineau, a Calgene scientist who helped develop the first genetically altered produce, gives a look into the world of science, agriculture, and economics. In this book, she not only gives the interesting story of the Flavr Savr Tomato, but also the data behind it.

31) Mawer, Simon (2006) Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics. Abrams.

32) Max, Daniel T. (2006) The Family That Couldn’t Sleep: A Medical Mystery. Random House.

33) McElheny, V. K. (2002). Watson and DNA: Making a Scientific Revolution. Perseus Books Group. McElheny has written an unauthorized, non-reverential account of James Watson. While Watson is probably the most influential scientist in the last half-century, he is also one of the most controversial.

34) McHugen, Alan. (2000). Pandora’s Picnic Basket: The Potential and Hazards of Genetically Modified Food. New York: Oxford University Press. McHughen’s book is an examination of some of the basic scientific issues involved in whether genetic modification may turn out to yield harmful (or, conversely, beneficial) results. He suggests that while GM production is likely to be a good thing, particularly in areas of the world where agricultural yields are low, there may yet be unanticipated risks involved.

35) Nottingham, Stephen (2002) Genescapes: The Ecology of Genetic Engineering. London: Zed Books. Biologist Nottingham explains the ecological principles that provide a framework for assessing the environmental impacts of genetically modified organisms and warns about the risks. He covers microorganisms, transgenic crops, invasion, genetic pollution, impact on non-target species, the possibilities for engineered solutions, trees, fish, risk assessment, diversity, and the precautionary principle.

36) Nussbaum, Martha C. (1999). Clones and Clones: Facts and fantasies about human cloning. (1998). New York: Norton. This book is a collection of essays on the implications of cloning, including four fiction pieces. Opinion pieces on topics ranging from the soul of a clone to clones produced for body parts. Many of the writers in Clones and Clones imagine the ramifications of finding out how our lives are predestined by our DNA.

37) Reilly, Philip (2006) How Genetic Information is reshaping Our Lives. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

38) Ridley, Mark. (2001). The Cooperative Gene: How Mendel’s demon explains the evolution of complex beings. New York: Free Press. Mark Ridley presents a new explanation of how complex large life forms like humans came to exist. By retracing the history of life on our planet -- from the initial wobbly, replicating molecules, through microbes, worms, and flies, and on to humans -- Ridley reveals how life evolved as a series of steps to manage error and to coerce genes to cooperate within each body.

39) Ridley, Matt (2006) Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code. A biography of the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. This unfolds Crick’s life from its modest beginnings through his uninspired physics career to his sudden switch into biology at he age of 31. Atlas Books/Harper Collins.

40) Rutter, Michael (2006) Genes and Behavior. Nature-Nurture Interplay Explained. In recent years, the subject of genes and their influence on human behavior has become increasingly controversial, as concerns about the racist use of genetics, discriminatory eugenics, and neurogenetic determinism have grown. In this major new book, eminent scientist Professor Sir Michael Rutter gets behind the hype to provide a balanced and authoritative overview of the genetic revolution and its implications for understanding human behavior. Blackwell Publishing.

41) Sayre, Anne. (2000). Rosalind Franklin and DNA. New York, NY: Norton. Rosalind Franklin's research was central to the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of DNA's double-helix structure. Known only as the bossy, unfeminine "Rosy" in James Watson's The Double Helix, Franklin never received the credit she was due during her lifetime. In this classic work Anne Sayre sets the record straight.

42) Shapiro, Robert. (1991). The Human Blueprint: the race to unlock the secrets of our genetic script. New York: St. Martin's Press. This book gives details about the human genome project as well as about the fascinating people involved.

43) Shell, Ellen Ruppel. (2002). The Hungry Gene: The Science Of Fat And The Future Of Thin. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. This author uses science, history, and people’s stories as she delves into the complexities of obesity in our world. She gives the reader a thorough understanding of genetic, behavioral, and environmental causes of obesity, as well as exploring the extremes to which people go in order to lose weight. She looks at many issues surrounding this epidemic, including the politics of pharmaceutical companies, and the important role the food industry has played.

44) Smolenyak, Megan and Tuner, Ann (2006?) Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree. This book contains all of the information a person would need in order to begin a series of genetic tests designed to trace his or her family tree. This book is about the next generation of genetic genealogy. Rodale, Holtzbrinck Publishers.

45) Tudge, Colin. (2001). The Impact of the Gene, From Mendel’s Peas to Designer Babies. New York: Hill and Wang. This book ventures through the peas of Mendel to the genes of today and designer babies. Tudge gives tribute to Mendel’s work, as it was neglected for over 35 years.

46) Walker, Mark. (2000). Unraveling Genes: a Layperson’s Guide to Genetic Engineering. Allen & Unwin. This book explains in easy to understand terms the concepts of genetically modified foods, cloning, and gene therapy.

47) Watson, J. D. (2003). DNA: The Secret of Life. Alfred a Knopf Inc. Fifty years ago, James D. Watson helped launch the greatest ongoing scientific quest of our time. Now he gives us the first full account of the genetic revolution—from Mendel’s garden to the double helix to the sequencing of the human genome and beyond.

48) Watson, James D. (1968). The double helix; a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA. New York: New American Library. Watson holds nothing back when revealing the petty sniping and backbiting among his colleagues, while acknowledging that he himself was a willing participant in the melodrama. In particular, Watson reveals his mixed feelings about his famous colleague in discovery, Francis Crick.

49) Weiner, Jonathan. (1999). Time, Love, Memory: a great biologist and his quest for the origins of behavior. New York: Knopf. This book describes the life of Seymour Benzer and his work on genes and behavior. As an addition to Benzer’s life there is also a look into the history of genetics and the mysteries behind it. T

50) Wexler, A. (1996). Mapping Fate: A Memoir of Family, Risk, and Genetic Research. Univ. of California Press. About Huntington's Disease. Memoir of a family living under the shadow of the genetically transmitted Huntington's disease, two of whose members become prominent researchers in the quest for a cure. In Mapping Fate, Alice Wexler tells the story of a family at risk for a hereditary, incurable, fatal disorder: Huntington's disease.

51) Wills, Christopher. (1991). Exons, introns, and talking genes: the science behind the human genome project. New York: Basic Books. In The book goes into both the scientific and medical aspects of the human genome project. Although this is a difficult and confusing topic, Wills does an excellent job of putting the language of the book into an understandable manner.

52) Wilmut, Ian. (2000). The Second Creation: Dolly and the age of biological control. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book tells the story of Dolly. In this novel the plans of cloning are carefully detailed. The cloning abilities discovered from Dolly made scientists ponder the idea of cloning a human, and further gene technologies.

53) Wilmut, Ian and Highfield, Roger (2006) After Dolly: the Uses and Misuses of Human Cloning. In this revealing book, the most famous of the scientist responsible for Dolly’s birth, with the help of science editor Highfeild, outlines his personal views on cloning and its possible role in the future of human medicine. Norton.

54) Winston, Mark L. (2002). Travels in the Genetically Modified Zone. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Winston visited scientists, government officials, corporations, environmentalists, farmers, and consumers and searched cyberspace for information and contacts. The result is a balanced report of the facts and myths about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), from seed production to consumption, and the strong feelings that emerge from all players in this debate.

55) Wright, Lawrence. (1997). Twins: and what they tell us about who we are. New York: J. Wiley. This book takes a brief look at twins and the role they play in helping us better understand genes. The book also looks into the role parents play in a child’s behavior and development. The author book to reads much like a novel rather than scientific literature.

56) Zimmer, M. (2005) Glowing Genes: A Revolution in Biotechnology. From ancient Greece to the first organisms modified to glow in the 1990s, the author traces the history of this line of research. In the process we see the evolution of science, instrumentation, business, and applications focused on the molecular markers derived from GFP. Prometheus.