Overview

In the last decade, scientists across the world have raced to be the first to crack the code of the human genome, exposing a startling new message: at the most fundamental level humans are genetically linked to every part of the natural world. A dog is 85% genetically identical to a human; humans have only twice as many genes as a worm or a fly, and many are the same. For the first time, award-winning science writer Jennifer Ackerman brings together these astonishing discoveries, and by weaving a mesmerising story of heredity, combining both personal memoir with cutting-edge science, she offers an encompassing vision of the impact these findings have on our everyday lives.

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Reviews

In the time since the first mapping of the structure of DNA the scientific understanding of genetics has grown exponentially. This research has produced astonishing insights: to discover that man and chimpanzees share 98% of their genes is not beyond the bounds of credibility, but it is much less predictable to find that our genetic history links us to fruit flies and yeast. When Jennifer Ackerman found herself pregnant with her first child, and in the knowledge that her sister had been born with severe mental retardation, she began to research the genetic background of her family and the factors that influence heredity. Her investigation was thorough (the bibliography and acknowledgements to this book occupy a full 12 per cent of it) and although not herself a scientist she has taken pains accurately to represent the scientific element of this work. She divides the book into four sections, of which the first explores the history of the science of genetics and the second describes how the replication of organisms is programmed by genes. In the third part she writes about the genetic influence on human relationships with other humans and with the environment, and lastly she explores ageing and the decay of the body. Jennifer Ackerman brings a poet's voice to this exposition, which she describes as 'a pilgrimage to the heart of heredity', writing in a way to bring out the wonder and beauty of the science, and to relate it to the human scale. It is a fascinating and perceptive book with insights that will long remain in your memory. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Jennifer Ackerman writes for the NEW YORK TIMES and NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC and has lectured at Harvard and MIT. Her first book NOTES FROM THE SHORE was published in 1995.

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