Richard Giles

Inspired by Chritchon’s novel, Prey, I rushed out and bulked up on a few science books I’d been keen to buy for a few months. One of which was Genome by Matt Ridley.

I’m often disappointed at the end of a great book. I know that when it is finished, and I put it down, that it’s the end, no longer can I explore such a wonderful world. That’s not the case with Matt Ridley’s book, Genome. This world is fabulously rich, and infinitely larger than even his engrossing 23 chapters can create. He has inspired me to do some more digging and look for some other books on the subject.

Ridley’s 22 chapters explores the Human Genome, chromosome by chromosome, focusing not only on fascinating details of human genes but also plows on into politics, ethics, history and the people who have made the science such a ground breaking field. Each chapter a fascinating exposé on small but world changing “sentences” of each chromosome.

Matt makes the new world of the human genome a fascinating place. Drawing from so many different inspiring areas makes this book an easy read. Each simple chapter encapsulates a single theme and exposes different parts of humanity. Before the book I never would have thought that a large part of human’s evolution was due to a conflict between female X chromosomes and the male Y. Progressing from Dawkins’s “Selfish Gene”, Ridley explores some of recent breakthroughs in genetics such as the cloning of Dolly the sheep, through to the yet unsolved mystery of CJD, commonly known as “Mad Cow Disease”.

Before we are convinced that Genetics will ultimately rule us all, Ridley points out that humans do have some control. His chapters just show how complex we are, and how fascinating the human body really is.

Now, off to read the next book.