Introducing Genetics: A Graphic Guide

Introducing Graphic Guides

by Steve Jones, Borin Van Loon (Illustrator)

"Introducing Genetics" takes readers on a journey through this new science to the discovery of DNA and the heart of the human gene map. In everyday life, many of us increasingly have to make moral decisions where genetics plays a part. This book gives us the information to do so.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Biology, Genetics, Ebooks, Graphic Novels, Evolution

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John Stephen Jones is a Welsh geneticist and from 1995 to 1999 and 2008 to June 2010 was Head of the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London. His studies are conducted in the Galton Laboratory. He is also a television presenter and a prize-winning author on the subject of biology, especially evolution. He is one of the contemporary popular writers on evolution. In 1996 his writing won him the Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize "for his numerous, wide ranging contributions to the public understanding of science in areas such as human evolution and variation, race, sex, inherited disease and genetic manipulation through his many broadcasts on radio and television, his lectures, popular science books, and his regular science column in The Daily Telegraph and contributions to other newspaper media".

Reviews

[muthuvel]

I think therefore I amino acid.

[Isaac]

This is a good introduction to the subject, and takes care to highlight dangerous ideological distortions of the past like racism and eugenics. To be sure, this is the most political field of scientific inquiry. Besides nephology, of course.

[Kianoush Mokhtarpour]

Better watch these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

[H. Givens]

Sort of like a streamlined textbook, with lots of comical illustrations and a basic text. I was expecting the graphics to be more related to the material, and instead they're mostly just illustrations (pictures of the scientists involved, people making puns based on the content, etc.). Still, it's a good intro or review.

[Sarah]

silly little science book

[Li]

Good analogies for complex topics! It is old (2000s) so many has changed but i love the recap!!

[julia]

the only drawback i find to this book is that genetics is a super complex and long topic to try to summarise it in a 100page-book. a lot of details aren’t explained deeply and some of the basics are taken for granted as known by the general public.
however, it is indeed a great book. or should i call it comic? (i love comics).

[Darina]

This book goes hard, unapologetic. The illustrations are also top notch 👌

[Stephen Huntley]

These graphic guides are awful; dreadful explanations and poorly illustrated with dire attempts at humour that irritate rather than illuminate. In trying to be cool they are instead threadbare, disjointed, messy and come across as cheap and thrown together. Don't waste your time.

[Kayson Fakhar]

مختصر مفید

[Chiriac-Moruzzi Ioana]

Such a fun way to learn new information or consolidate it.

[Andrew]

The policy and ethical considerations of genetic research were considered and explained well, but the science was a dense and whirlwhind that was hard for a non-science person to understand.

[Yui]

I expected this to be more about information rather than the history, this gives insight to the characters behind the science of genetics. The images don't often have a clear correlation to the text itself, but it does tell it one way or another. This is one of the few books that I've rated under 4 stars because it seems as if it's spewing information in random clutters without dividing them into chapters. I understand that this is a guide but having some organization would be a good idea to not rub all the information in the readers' faces.

[Gulo]

Great intro/refresher. Passed on to middle school aged neighbor after reading.

My one takeaway quote:

"Genetics turned out to be much more complicated than seemed reasonable to imagine. Biology is not like physics. The more we know, the less it seems there is one final explanation waiting to be discovered."
- S. Jones and B. Von Loon

[Dani]

I love the graphic guides and was quite excited to find this one in a bookshop. This one could really do with updating though. It’s fine for the historical background but doesn’t seem to have been updated for about 20 years - which for this subject is a very long time!

It did help my basic understanding though, which was kind of the point.

[Rahul]

This was great a introduction for someone not familiar with the field, a bit stereotypical and racist in a few pages, certain cultures and program from authors country would be a historic event while other countries and cultures would be just painted with a broad stroke which isn't new but otherwise a good read.

[Adriane]

Cute idea

The author did a basic overview of genetics and used public domain antique graphics to add a bit of punch. It's a really good idea even tho I sometimes found myself quite distracted by the graphics

[Chloe Hickman]

Enjoyable

It is a good book with lots of pictures and humour. The book could be updated but gives you a very good understanding of genetics but doesn't give the whole pictures on how genes work ect...

[Frank]

Great read

Despite belonging to science stream i had my fair share problems in understanding of chromosome. This book gave a concise and thorough explanation about all the chromosome related topics.

[Michael Bee]

Mrna transcription retrovirus

Mr na DNA messenger transcription this was a helpful text to understand some of these mysterious terms. Good overview. Illustrations great aid to emphasis underscore different points

[Ahmed Farahat]

دليل مبسط لأساسيات علم الوراثة، وتتبع تاريخه منذ البداية وحتى البدء في مشروح الخريطة الجينية..
يعيب الكتاب أن فهمه يحتاج لمن له معرفة سابقة بعلم الوراثة، وليس دليل لمن يريد أن يعرف الأساسيات، على عكس ما يبدو على الكتاب نفسه، ولكنه في النهاية كتاب متوسط مفيد لشريحة كبيرة من القراء.

[Jayana Padalia]

It is a wonderful book for a non-science background reader!! The graphics are beautiful and puns are witty! I will save books of this series for my children... and i am sure they will enjoy when they will come in their elementary school.

[Miriam]

very easy and entertaining.

[Rakesh]

Brief introductory book that covers a large canvass of the background and concept. I like the illustrations which though sometimes irrelevant to topic they makes it interesting and light.

[Gladys Lopez]

Great book to remember what I learned at school. Also great sarcasm and cartoons which makes the book easy and fun to read.

[Lottie]

Quite racist, sexist and altogether just childish. It does display the information in an easy to digest form, but also has a lot of unnecessary comments and outdated opinions, would not reccomend.

[anna :)]

very detailed and slightly unsettling explanation of eugenics but not too bad for a street find

[Brian]

It isn’t a bad primer, but it’s already a few decades behind, and some of the more sensitive elements could be dealt with a bit better. It’s the first one of these that I’ve felt might be outdated.

[Mairead]

Uber cute

I’m recommending this to my little sister

[Akash Amat]

Hope to finish the detailed review sometime soon.