Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters Hardcover – 2 Sep 1999

There are some authors that never disappoint, and Matt Ridley is one of them. This volume is typical of his work: easy to read, well researched and presented and full of unexpected concepts and information that challenge preconceptions.
This is a quite informal read, as he uses the central idea of 23 chromosomes as a vehicle without being hidebound over where the content goes. It is very entertaining as well as being informative and inevitably leads to more reading, of other authors, as ideas open up.
Superb work.

The output of the human genome project is a heavy duty subject – just understanding what’s involved in the process is not easy; interpreting the results operates at a whole different level. As for writing about the human genome in an accessible and enjoyable way – this is a particularly drastic challenge.

Ridley not only succeeds but does so in a rather cute fashion. This is ‘an autobiography of a species in 23 chapters’. The number 23 is no random selection – it corresponds to the number of chromosome pairs we have, and Ridley picks out a gene to feature from each chromosome pair in each chapter.

This approach enables his book to be far reaching, looking at our relationship to other owners of the gene, from bacteria to great apes, spanning from the earliest forms of life to the genes that could be responsible for intelligence and language.

Evolutionary theory, biology’s great triumph, is put across very effectively alongside good background material on genetics, and of the many books around the human genome, this has to be one of the best.

Particularly attractive is Ridley’s style – effortlessly informative, yet light enough to almost always be enjoyable. If there’s anything to criticize it is an over use of something to the effect of “to go through all of this would bore you to tears, but I just want to show you this little bit because…” – but that is a very minor moan.

This reviewer has a physics background and expects biology-based popular science to often be an necessary chore rather than a pleasure – this is a definite exception!

It’s interesting to read it alongside Andrew Brown’s In the Beginning was the Worm.

Well written, with some anecdotal smatterings which always lighten the mood in popular science books as long as they are not overdone. I wanted a basic intro to genome stuff and from my reading this does the trick for me although the experts and some purists out there may argue otherwise. However for me it laid the groundwork and primed me to want to know more, so I'm now looking for the next step in reading about this important and interesting topic.

The historical references, and how early ideas have been superseded, placed current knowledge in good perspective. The many references and bibliography are a valuable inclusion. The chapter "Chromosome 22 - Eugenics" started with a discussion on Down-syndrome babies and that some choose to terminate such pregnancies. That led, logically for me, onto the subject of the chapter, eugenics. There were some surprises there and some shocks too when I learned of some well-known names that favoured or supported eugenics. A book I shall read again.

This fascinating account of human inheritance has an elegant structure. Various genetic phenomena are discussed, each in one of 23 chapters: each one named (= numbered) after the chromosome pair which is most relevant to that particular subject. So we are guided through the genetics of intelligence, personality, immunity, and the gene-level basis of heart disease, cancers, Alzheimers, and other `partially inherited' diseases. Ridley, as ever, does his research thoroughly, and presents it with brilliant clarity. I found the account of apoptosis (cell suicide), effected by genes `for the good of the body', to be an informative evolutionary basis for better understanding cancer. In another chapter, he discusses the biological benefits of autonomy, comparing (admittedly generalising) the high status, in control, `high serotonin' state with the anxious, impulsive, atherosclerotic, suicidal, `low serotonin' scenario.

New snippets of the evolutionary story are revealed. Head-tail and back-front differentiation genes are very similar throughout the animal kingdom, implying a common ancestry. Infidelity is a highly prevalent behaviour in many species.Genes from different animals (including humans) are to a surprising extent actually interchangeable.

We glean further insights into the nurture/nature interplay. Environmental triggers can actually switch genes on and off; genes in turn can make us more or less sensitive to our environment. Ridley relates how, with age, as we often become increasingly able to select our own influences, the `genetic' proportion of our intelligence thus tends to increase. In another chapter again, he explores the construction of intricate `genetic geography' which reveal some racial `characteristics'.

Conundrums are explored: why do inherited diseases persist in the gene pool? Because gene mutations (changes in the base sequence) often have two separate effects, one beneficial and one harmful. What is the function of all the `junk' (seemingly useless) DNA? A lot of it is random, `phenotype-free' : `hitch-hiking' a ride from generation to generation, on the back of the genes that bother to make the survival machines(bodies)that serve to reproduce DNA so effectively.

What you learn depends on what you already knew; but there'll certainly be something for everyone here. I found most gripping the sections towards the end, as we become gradually more aware of the fantastic possibilities of genetic engineering. The account of the (gene-carrying) retrovirus therapy and other genetic `engineering' tricks was riveting. The principles of what had seemed a highly esoteric field became much clearer and more straightforward.

He extends his discussions into philosophical areas also. I discovered that many countries - including the US and the UK - took significant steps towards developing and supporting eugenic customs and laws in the 20's and 30's. In another section Ridley briefly discusses the relationship between behavioural genetics and the problem of free will - does chaos theory have a relevance here, explaining the smaller scale unpredictabilities in our decisions ?

Overall, this is a key modern topic to obtain some kind of grasp of, and Ridley's book must be as good a way as any of achieving that.

I was going to give it a five, but then I changed my mind because I recalled when reading the first half of the book, I had difficulties to proceed with interest. Approximately before Chapter 7, it was all about social-science style writing and information intertwined with jibber jabber. I was almost going to drop the book but I forced myself to keep on reading. And then the book turned brilliant. It starts to talk about genes and diseases just the way I wanted.

Quite an entertaining book despite its age. Apparently 20 years ago we were on the verge of a break through in cancer treatment and genome treatment.

The book would be improved if the author stayed away socio-biology and enormously improved if he kept his political opinions to himself.