A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life

by J. Craig Venter

The triumphant true story of the man who achieved one of the greatest feats of our era—the mapping of the human genome

Growing up in California, Craig Venter didn’t appear to have much of a future. An unremarkable student, he nearly flunked out of high school. After being drafted into the army, he enlisted in the navy and went to Vietnam, where the life and death struggles he encountered as a medic piqued his interest in science and medicine. After pursuing his advanced degrees, Venter quickly established himself as a brilliant and outspoken scientist. In 1984 he joined the National Institutes of Health, where he introduced novel techniques for rapid gene discovery, and left in 1991 to form his own nonprofit genomics research center, where he sequenced the first genome in history in 1995. In 1998 he announced that he would successfully sequence the human genome years earlier, and for far less money, than the government-sponsored Human Genome Project would— a prediction he kept in 2001.

A Life Decoded is the triumphant story of one of the most fascinating and controversial figures in science today. In his riveting and inspiring account Venter tells of the unparalleled drama of the quest for the human genome, a tale that involves as much politics (personal and political) as science. He also reveals how he went on to be the first to read and interpret his own genome and what it will mean for all of us to do the same. He describes his recent sailing expedition to sequence microbial life in the ocean, as well as his groundbreaking attempt to create synthetic life. Here is one of the key scientific chronicles of our lifetime, as told by the man who beat the odds to make it happen.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Biography, Biology, History, Memoir, Genetics

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

DR. J. CRAIG VENTER is regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 21st century for his invaluable contributions in genomic research, most notably for the first sequencing and analysis of the human genome published in 2001 and the most recent and most complete sequencing of his diploid human genome in 2007.

He is Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO, Co-Chief Scientific Officer of Synthetic Genomics, Inc; as well as Founder, President and Chairman of the J. Craig Venter Institute. He was also the founder of Human Genome Sciences, Diversa Corporation and Celera Genomics. He and his teams have sequenced more than 300 organisms including human, fruit fly, mouse, rat, and dog as well as numerous microorganisms and plants.

Dr. Venter is also the key leader in the field of synthetic genomics. This work, trying to create the first synthetic genome, is leading to extraordinary advances in engineering microorganisms for many vital energy and environmental applications used at SGI. He is the author of more than 200 research articles and is among the most cited scientists in the world. He is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and scientific awards including the 2008 National Medal of Science. He is also a member of many prestigious scientific organizations including the National Academy of Sciences.

He is the author of A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life.

Reviews

[Charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about this book? It was a little bit like reading Holly Madison's book Down the Rabbit Hole. Instead of the Playboy mansion it was the world of science. Instead of vicious attacks on Hugh Hefner's character, Venter attacked the characters of just about anyone who pissed him off, stood in his way, or insulted him in any way during his long and fruitful career. Like Holly Madison, Venter engaged in very little self reflection of his own behavior while, at the same time, being keenly aware of every fault in those around him. Mistakes were certainly made, but not by him! The end result was a science tell all that was addictive to read, which also possibly included many inaccuracies.

So why 5 stars? I could not put this book down! I am now motivated to read the Genome Wars to try to understand the real story, from a more objective source. I had to give this book 5 stars because it was the longest tantrum thrown by a scientist, possibly in the history of science biographies.

At first, it appears as if Venter is able to look at his own flaws. He spent a lot time writing about his bad grades in high school, his forced placement into community college, etc. However, does he really see this as flaw? Hell no! He sees himself as a struggling Darwin who had a bit of trouble with maths but overcame it to be one of the world's most important figures. Venter, without question, sees himself as one of the world's most important people. Does he have the success to back it up? In some ways yes. In other ways-- not to the degree to which he admires himself.

However, this book had it all: glorious science, amazing new discoveries, novel ideas, dirty science politics, personal relationship problems, and so on. Say what you will about his attitude, I haven't enjoyed reading a book this much in a long time.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. Alternate titles he could have used: Vendetta: Righting All Those Wrongs. Venter used this book to get back at anyone who ever did anything wrong to him or doubted him or didn't support him or undercut him or or or. Then it becomes Toot Toot!: Blowing My Own Horn, because when he isn't getting back at anyone he's letting us know what a superior individual he is, ain't he grand! Even his genome is special. What was left of the book was dry science. Yes, this is an autobiography, he's writing about his life, but the tone is so self-serving and superior it made me roll my eyes. Yes, this is about mapping the human genome, there's going to be science, but I just listened to Bill Bryson who made science FASCINATING, so my standards were too high for Venter. But I'm such a glutton -- can't stop reading a book unless it is so bad it is making my eyes bleed -- so I listened to the whole damn thing. I came pretty close to putting this aside, but by then I'd already invested so much time in the story I decided to trudge on, rolling my eyes and snorting all the way.

[Books Ring Mah Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This man is possibly the most self absorbed, arrogant SOB EVER. Then again, if I were half as brilliant, maybe I'd be a jerk too. Only 50 pages in - hope to get into science stuff soon. One thing I do like so far that "Dr. I massaged their heart in my hands! I swim like a Mutha! I get laid a ton!" does is offer little boxes of genome info - why, for example he can swim so well as his gene for endurance does not have a common mutation that makes the rest of us cramp up and want to die.

Okay... I finished. Absolutley fascinating. That cocky personality helped him get funding for research, propose ideas and experiments, and fight like hell if someone told him no. That attitude (as unattractive as I find it) certainly led to one of the most interesting scientific finds of my lifetime.

Thanks, Venter! You are a genius and a jerk.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Format: Hard-cover

This book shows that it pays to be bold and take risks in academia, just as in business.

A life decoded was a great story about an adventurous life, was educational in terms of what the science actually did, and provided key insights on how politics in academia operate.

Fantastic book.

I also really enjoyed the quotes at the start of each chapter, usually from Darwin.

Some memorable quotes all throughout the book:

p125: "In science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurs. Not the man who finds a grain of new and precious quality but to him who sows it, reaps it, grinds it and feeds the world on it" - Sir Francis Darwin, First Galton Lecture before the Eugenics Society (1914)

p148: "Son, you are obviously doing extremely well." He did not strike me as being au fait with the science, so I asked him why my success was so obvious: "This is Washington, and we judge people by the quality of their enemies, and son, you have some of the best." - Narration

p159: "Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity" - Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

p189: If you cannot - in the long run - tell everyone what you have been doing, your doing has been worthless. - Erwin Shrodinger, 1933 Nobel Prize winner in Physics

p251: The public genome people assumed the fort to sequence an genome was too sizeable for a single laboratory. As mentioned earlier, the yeast genome, which was only about three times the size of Haemophilus influenza, had required some one thousand "monks" working for almost ten yard in laboratories spread all over the world. The problem with that approach was that while a few centres did high-quality work, many others were of only average quality or even worse. The first yeast chromosome sequence to be published had to be redone, under-scoring the management issues in having each diverse lab trying to read code in its own way, with varying degrees of success. In this system, quantity of sequence, not quality, was what mattered most. - Narration

p254: A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.
- Oscar Wilde: A Picture of Dorian Grey

p260: The battles went all the way to the Applera board, where I had to argue my case for filing patents only when there was clear value. I was fighting for my integrity and that of my team because we had promised to make the human genome publicly available. The stress was more than I could handle at times. By then I had gotten to know Bill Clinton a little and was inspired by the way he dealt with the endless pressures from the job, the media, and his political opponents. Not letting your opponents see you cringe and sweat can be more damaging to your attackers than a good counterpunch (though the later can be very satisfying).
- Narration

p309: Then I received a copy of Tony Blair's speech, and my blood began to boil. Drafted by his chief scientist, Sir Bob May, it was so partisan that I suspected the Wellcome Trust had had a major influence on its drafting.

I was so upset that I called Ari and told him that if Blair went ahead with those remarks, I would boycott the White House ceremony and hold my own press conference. Ari tried to calm me and promised to call Neal Lane immediately. He told me not do anything rash -- in fact, not to do anything or call anybody until I heard back from him or Neal. Neal finally called and wanted to go through Blair's speech with me, line by line, to clarify what had offended me. When I finished, he clearly understood my position and was sympathetic, but he said there was little he could do. "I can change anything you want in Collins's speech and even the president's, but you re asking me to change a major international address by a foreign head of state. I just can't do that."

The lack of reassurance reminded me of Collins's prevarication in our basement discussions when he told me, as Lander had done before him, that he could not speak for his colleagues. Collins had also said he had nothing to do with the release of the ultimatum letter to the L.A. Times and ha blamed the Wellcome Trust. If someone deceives me once, then shame on him; it if happens twice, then shame on me. I was not going to let it happen a second time on live television from the White House. I was firm: If the speech went out as it was, I would not show up. Neal pleaded with me to wait until he had at least tried to get it changed.

Being an optimist I kept working on my text and sitting at the computer in my home office after midnight when my phone rang. It was a relieved-sounding Neal Lane, who assured me that everyone had gotten my message and that Tony Blair's speech would be rewritten. Could I see a copy first? I had his assurances that the speech would be changed and that I would be pleased. Now would I agree to participate? I had never known Neal to be anything less than honourable and straightforward, so I accepted his word. The conversation quickly turned to my speech. I promised him a copy by 6:00 A.M. but walked him through what I wanted to say. Neal seemed pleased. The next time we would see each other would be at the White House in the morning. We were going to unveil the book of humankind to the world.

p311: The next day Collins phoned to plead with me, saying it would end the wrong message to have only one of us appear on the cover, and I reluctantly agreed. When I told Dick Thompson, he asked if I was really sure. I said I was feeling magnanimous an it was the right thing to do.

p320: A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affectations - a mere heart of stone -- Charles Darwin

[Sueper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be a very interesting read while much of the world is questioning the value of cooperation vs competition, with books like Atlas Shrugged and my personal favorite, Where Good Ideas Come From. Venter's story helps me to come to terms with my own struggle to find a balance between the necessity of cooperation and competition in order to catalyze innovation in today's world. I also enjoyed the personal connections I had to his life, whether it was the references to Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville and Annapolis where I grew up, or his process of choosing the right academic institution for his scientific studies. I really enjoyed listening to the audio version of this book between running and doing image processing of rat brain tissue. It was fun to listen to the details of mapping the human genome, as I provided my minuscule contribution to mapping the human brain. It helped me put the tediousness of my work into perspective, through basic inspiration. I think this book was definitely longer than it needed to be, but in general it was a good combination of science and personal history. A great read for anyone considering a life in science and/or creative innovation.

[Mariam Ezz El-arab · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I hated the most is the political arguments part that occupied the majority of the book, it is boring and has no purpose except satisfying the author’s desire to belittle his opponents, praise his supporters, and glorify his efforts.

Despite that, I enjoyed seeing what went on behind the scenes of the first human genome project and how Craig’s life was. I also loved the way he simplified many scientific discoveries and the reflections he made on his own genome.

[Can · Rating 4 out of 5]

Venter gibi bir adamla ayni sehirde bile yasamak istemezdim fakat hirsi, azmi, inatciligi, rekabet tutkusu ve zekasiyla biyolojik bilimler alanindaki en kritik oneme sahip kilometre taslarindan birisi olan genom sekanslama isinin arkasinda yatan roket yakiti da ta kendisi.

Kitapta surekli bir mucadele, macera ve yarismayla gecen hayat hikayesini anlatiyor. Tabii ki kitabin buyuk bolumu genom dizileme teknolojisinin nasil gelistirildigi, rekabet icinde oldugu gruplar ve insanlik tarihinin vazgecilmezi olan guc-iktidar oyunlarinin akademik versiyonunun nasil oynandigi uzerine. Bunlari midenize kramplar girerken okurken arada bir bu oyuna sahne olan molekuler biyoloji alaninda ozellikle 90li yillarda gerceklesen nefes kesici turden bilimsel ve teknolojik ilerlemelerin detaylarini da ogrenerek “vay be” diyorsunuz.

Genom dizileme teknolojisi insanlik tarihinde yepyeni bir sayfa acti. Meyvelerini hemen toplayamadik cunku kodu gormek her ne kadar cok onemli de olsa onu anlamak, yorumlamak ve kod yazmak cok daha zor ve zaman alici bir surec. Zaten kodun sihri de burdan geliyor. Nasil calisacagi cevresinden gelen girdilere de bagli ! Riddley’in The Agile Gene kitabi bu acidan cok guzel bir tamamlayici olacaktir. Keyifli okumalar.

[Eric Bittner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fascinating book. Lots of insight into the politics and egos behind the sequencing of the human genome. If anyone thinks scientists do what they do just for the joy of discovery, this book will set them straight. While Venter displays no shortage of ego on his own part, the levels that his rivals stooped to is at times astonishing. In some ways the world of "big biology" is even more competitive than the business world. Being the first to achieve something is the only thing that matters. Second place really is being "first loser" and can jeopardize one's funding, and even one's career. Venter has been particularly adept at finding quicker ways to do science, and that has been very threatening to others. Naturally, as an autobiography, most everything Venter does is portrayed in a positive light, but he does give credit to others whose work was essential to his success. The book does delve into the science of genetics pretty deeply in places, which didn't bother me, but could be a bit intimidating for others. For a more balanced perspective on the entire human genome project, a book like James Shreeve's "The Genome War" would be a good choice along with "A Life Decoded." One aspect of the book that I wasn't as happy with was the frequent sidebars to discuss particular genes that have been found in Venter's own genome, and what they could mean. While interesting, they tended to disrupt the flow of the narrative. They would probably have worked better as an appendix.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bio of an accomplished scientist whose initiative and persistance led to the deciphering of the human genetic code. A ,edic in Vietnam, an avis sailor, with a large ego and a combatitive style in dealing with competitors resulted in a stilulating career and book!

[Luke Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read in a mini-series genomics. I had made the mistake of reading a few GoodReads reviews before starting and a few stood out. One recent one made the claim was that this was a book mostly by the author to name and shame almost everyone who ever did anything wrong to him. That's... probably got some truth to it. I still enjoyed the book, but you need to separate a few topics: the man, the science, and the history of the science.

Reading this book a little more than a decade after it was published and I'm sure much of the narrative would be seriously different when taken on by a modern editor. He comes across in his portrayal of his life as trying way to hard to "be a man." From his depiction of his time in Vietnam, to his adrenaline fill machoism, to the way he talks about women in the workplace, this book oozes synthetic knuckle dragging bravado. Which is perhaps fitting, given his closing paragraphs are about his attempts at creating synthetic life. Venter wants to be seen as the masculine man he started as before earning his PhD and joining the elite establishment.

A few stand out scenes along these lines include his description of the prostitutes in Vietnam and how the industry sprang to life because of the conscious destruction of cities and towns by US troops and the decimation of their economy. While he had the insight to realize this cause and effect, he talks about how his decision for not hiring prostitutes was a result of being a medic and seeing the STDs transmitted in these brothels. He states "I could never bring myself to use them, despite enduring long periods without sex." His portrayal of his time in Vietnam lacks deep introspection and is used primarily as a mechanism for bolstering his machoism and an introduction to his medical and sailing hobbies. Of his three wives, two of them worked directly for him. His second wife was one of his students, and his third and current wife the head of PR for one of his companies. One of the key leaders in his early human genome work, Ham Smith, had a team that "included a group of young, attractive technicians" who Venter liked to call "Hams harem." When he talked about how altruistic he was for selling his shares in one of his private companies to fund a trust for science he mentions that his business partner was amazed and dissappointed that he would sell his stock so soon. His business partner was rich, and wanted to see Venter become rich too. This portrayal leaves the impression that Venter at this time was not rich, and was forsaking fortunes in the name of science. Less than a page later he's buying a racing Yacht for $1.5 million, not to mention the fact that he regularly can disappear for weeks to a month to sail across the ocean and clear his head before coming back to work. Venter is not the every-man humble scientist he likes to see himself as and I think today many would describe his self portrayal as "toxic masculinity."

If the man is flawed I'm sympathetic to the politics he dealt with and the novelty of his approach. It clearly worked. And the science and science history itself is incredibly interesting. If there's anything inspiring to take from the book it's seeing someone willing to take a stand against orthodoxy, bear the risk of doing it his own way, and mostly succeeding. Processing human genomes is a significantly more mature field because of Venters efforts (although not his alone) and he deserves the wealth and fame he earned as a result. His closing chapter on sampling biomes like the ocean or the air in Manhattan to study life, trying find a minimal "operating system of life", and trying to create synthetic life is bold and inspiring. I learned enough from this book to enjoy it even if I cringed on many occasions at the man or the self promotion. Venter is as much a businessman and promoter as he is a scientist and he clearly has a solid track record at all three.

[Sheffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Craig Venter sequenced the human genome--not just any human genome--his own human genome. OK, he built a team, and they sequenced parts of ~5 genomes, but his seemed to be the dominant one--and that was supposed to be a secret… In the same say that Socrates’ Apology was a defense of his actions against his accusers, Venter’s autobiography explains why he thinks he’s been unfairly maligned. And you know what, he just about wins me over--he is clearly a genius. And a narcisist. He describes how he struggled in his early years, got mired in Vietnam, messed up multiple marriages, and how he burned bridges with fellow scientists and industry execs alike. I’m not even sure if he can see through his own writing what is patently obvious about his own culpability in these affairs, but he provides enough details for readers to draw their own conclusions, once you pull back his interpretations. But he makes a compelling case that much of the criticism against him (people thought he was out to patent human genes for profit, he’s an egomaniac) don’t comport with his motives--he just wanted to be a scientist, and sail on his boats. I was a biomedical scientist in the late 90’s and 2000’s during the race between Venter’s industry funded team and the international government consortium to sequence the genome-- I remember hearing the criticism and thinking it was a bit unfair. I've been privileged to personally interact with some of the personalities involved, Gerry Rubin (who collaborated with Venter on the fly genome as a test run before humans), James Watson, Harold Varmus, Francis Collins at NIH. Let’s just say there are a lot of big egos to go around. I don’t know how this book comes across to someone who is less familiar with the story as it played out--I don’t think he provides enough details for the naive reader. As an added bonus, he sprinkles the book with tidbits pulled from variants in his own genome--clearly the first book in the history of the world that can do that. Autobiographies are not exactly gripping narratives, but this isn’t so bad--and it will be very important in the anals of science.

[Nick Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book probably would have gotten 4 or 5 stars from anyone with the slightest science background. Venter surprised me by doing a good job of mixing his life story in with the details of his science, but there were still some long passages with a little too much detail about the methods of sequencing DNA to hold my interest. What I did find fascinating was the political game that he was forced to play in and the way he described it. I'm actually interested in reading more books about scientific discovery to hear some other people's perspectives on the competition and/or corruption inherent in the field.

I did fin it interesting that he opened the book with a couple quotes about how most people find it hard to be completely honest about themselves; while I think he gave it a good shot, he certainly paints a very positive picture of himself, and I'm curious to read a couple of the books by his rivals now.

[Aldwin Susantio · Rating 3 out of 5]

J. Craig Venter is an expert in genomics. In this book, he tells his story starting from when he found his life's calling in Vietnam until his success as an entrepreneur also genomic researcher.

His life's journey is so inspiring to read. He start as a straight-C then transform into straight-A student after finding the purpose of his life. After that, he continue his life as a researcher of many private institutes and achieve many notable breakthroughs, one of which is to synthesize life, a significant milestone to understand what life is.

By reading this book, you'll gain many technical knowledge also life lessons from Venter's adventure. One of it is how to overcome political hurdles that await you in academic world. I think it is worth knowing, especially if you gonna pursue a career as a researcher, as which you might experience the same obstacles as Craig Venter.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

You don't have to have a genetics or genomics background to get into this books, but perhaps a political science background would be more useful. Craig Venter has certainly led an interesting life, but this shows again what a role personal politics plays in big science. Ventner leaves no hatchet unburied in describing his political rivals. While he does an adequate job of describing gene sequencing for the novice, the more important work of figure out the purpose for each gene was a bit of a mystery. Sidenotes throughout the book describe interesting genetic properties of human an general, and Ventners genome in particular, more of those and less politics would have made for a better book.

[Takim Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well-written autobiography of a fascinating man, a sailing, surfing Vietnam War medic who despite a poor high school academic record became a successful biochemist and then the leader of the historical Human Genome Project. His scientific career seemed to be a frustrating struggle against politics, and his ambition, perseverance and ingenuity certainly triumphed in the end. Venter's life makes a good story, with the perfect blend of romance, science and adventure. And after going over his own personal history and that of the HGP, Venter gives us some speculation on the future of genetic research. This book was the perfect warm-up before the freshman seminar that I plan to take this fall: "Exploring the Human Genome and the Future of Humanity." I'm stoked.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars) This is an autobiography of J. Craig Venter and his quest to decode the human genome. While it provides a fascinating perspective into some of the politics and undercurrents that affected the process, Venter’s own ego and biases clearly shine through. He clearly is a driven and determined man, but one who will take what he wants without letting anyone stand in his way. He reminds me of another titan of industry, Larry Ellison, not only for the attitude but also for their shared passion for sailing. It would be interesting to read others’ perspectives on these events, and I would be particularly intrigued by the thoughts of his second wife, Claire Fraser, a respected scientist and businesswoman in her own right.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only got through half of this due to time constraints, but its a great book. His life is much more interesting than I thought it was going to be, but towards the middle, the story runs into a bit of a thick patch - it becomes too scientific and business-like, and the magic of the early narrative (his ability to use his experiences and weave them into a picture of self-discovery and life lessons runs out around this time... coincidentally, this is also the part that I stopped reading).

He's had an exemplary (and rather controversial) career, so this one is definitely worth a read, especially for anyone thinking about going into research.

[Marty Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a great read. As a microbiologist by training, I really liked the middle part when they began constructing the genomes of certain viruses and bacteria for the first time in history. In a fell swoop, life was a little better understood, and evolution was seen in a whole new light. What's funny is that I was in college when the major breakthroughs were happening, but I didn't know enough tp really appreciate it. As for the man himself, he has a reputation as an insufferable a-hole, but I have nothing but respect for him. I think when you are given the full story of where a person comes from and what they've seen, much can be forgiven.

[James Mize · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brash, opinionated, and breathtaking in its scope and pace, as many have described the man himself. Well-written for the lay reader. Only once did I feel that the science got too dense for me to appreciate the drama of the story as it was unfolding. Pages 95-100 or so hurt my head, but after surviving that I was able to delude myself into thinking I was smart enough about genomics to be able to hang on for the rest of the ride.

[Marcos Moret · Rating 3 out of 5]

The autobiography of the clever chap who won the race to decode the human genome. At times it's pretty hard-going as he really gets into the detail of the politics between the competing bodies in the race, and some of the science becomes a bit difficult to follow, leaving the storytelling as a bit of an afterthought. Still worth a read - just be ready to skip good-sized chunks every now and again.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This guy is definitely brilliant, but boy, is he full of himself. Read it for the scientific discourse about his work and not the TMI about his personal life, including side bars in each chapter about what his DNA reveals (e.g., based on his personality, he is not surprised that he has genes linked to attention-deficit disorder or thrill-seeking behaviors). Blah Blah Blah.....

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very technical book about molecular biology and genomics. However, with that said, I was astounded by the depth of Venter's motivation to achieve the goals he set. I was disappointed with the some of the members of the scientific community that tried to hold back the advancements of sequencing the human genome.

[Garry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hubris, thy name is Venter. Yet, the very act of writing an autobiography drinks deep from that cup. I found the whole book fascinating. Its treatment of the politics that goes behind research was stunning, but I was unsure as to what degree I could believe the narrator. This one goes to my daughter, the bio-chemistry major.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a combination of fascinating and dry because of all the genetic talk throughout the book. However, I did enjoy seeing the patterns the author continued to follow and learning the struggles he dealt with to achieve such high esteem in the scientific community. I'm generally not a fan on auto-biographies and this didn't help that feeling much.

[Konrad Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting story, but despite being an autobiography, it left me with a very disappointed view of Craig, the HGP, and how egomaniacal academia apparently is.
On the upside, this is a case study for what is wrong and needs to change in academia.
What's hilarious is this is an autobiography. I can't imagine what the unbiased reports have to say about this "selfless" pursuit of knowledge.

[Lucy Briggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of the book, about his early life, was fascinating. Think the rest of the book was interesting because of my biology background, but not sure how much it would appeal to others. I was surprised by all of the drama/politics/ego that's involved in science.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The information in the book was very interesting for a science nerd like me. However, Dr. Venter's self-importance and pompousness far outweigh the story, making the book less than enjoyable.

[Apeel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother unless you wouldlike to know about the sex-capades of this Nobel Lauriet. Some Good science in it.

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skimmed this book which was easy to do. Cool passages were highlighted so I could read interesting bits involving more detail and information about parts of the genome.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm currently reading Craig Venter's auobiography. A great line from the introduction, "DNA provides the music. Our cells and the environment provide the orchestra."