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Drawing the Map of Life: Inside the Human Genome Project
The riveting story of the players, the crises, and the competition to map the genome, the greatest scientific achievement of our time
585 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 22, 2020
I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. While the perspective that McElheny brings to this unbelievably long and complex project is undeniably valuable, his writing is often rambling and prone to veer off topic. In an attempt to enliven the roles of the many individuals who deserve recognition for their involvement, he takes us into far too much detail of their childhoods, favorite things, and personal anecdotes. Given the scope of this project, I wanted to stick to the science, and wish the author had as well.
November 10, 2012
Too many characters and not enough story for me. I just felt like it was almost a conglomeration of little biographies and how this all pieced the project together. On the one hand I am so glad that science has taken a collaborative approach to some of these larger topics and become so worldwide in our pursuit of knowledge. Also I think the book does a good job of applauding our advances in technology and how they have helped medicine in this area. Still... this work as a collection made kind of a boring story.
January 16, 2017
Interesting material, but very disorganized and scattered in terms of how information was presented. It was challenging to follow the chronology of the actual projects and the scientist involved with each segment. I chose this book for the science; not to read about how money and those in control of it's disbursement dictate how everything in this world is accomplished or not accomplished. I was quite disappointed. I would have liked more information about the actual scientific method and technologies involved.
November 10, 2010
This book is fairly complicated in the way current science is complicated. There are many, many players both as individuals and as coporate entities. I found it a little difficult to keep it all straight but if you are interested in how the human genome was mapped read this book. It appears the major problem was to convince people not to copyright the bits and pieces they interpreted so in the end the project would be available to all which it is on the internet.
February 26, 2011
I was trying to find out what is known about DNA mapping, and what is doable in a home lab. This didn't give me the conciseness I was looking for, but did show me how exciting the science world has been during the progress of mapping the human genome. Not being a science-strong individual myself, nevertheless, I found this work interesting and a window into a world that is vibrant, yet which many of us are oblivious to.
December 1, 2011
I may not be the intended audience for this book. I think too much time was spent on how polcy was determined and not enough on the science. I constantly was looking for additional information on the technologies and concepts. Maybe I need to read a textbook...
September 25, 2012
This book blew me away. It was startling to find out that in just over a decade since getting my zoology degree the basics of genetics has been heavily revised. New info like this shows awesome potential for future of humanity in so many different fields. Biology rocks and science kicks ass!
July 3, 2016
This one sticks in my mind, since it was so compelling. The story of the race to decode the human genome was dramatic, with the federal project and a private effort colliding in a fascinating way. This is non-fiction, of course, but a riveting story all the way.
January 20, 2011
I didn't read the whole book, but ended up skimming it, as I found it a bit dry.
November 13, 2013
An excellent book. This books tells the story of the behind the scene actions in the human genome project.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews