DNA: A Graphic Guide to the Molecule that Shook the World - Softcover

The book is novel, easy to read and combines excellent cartoons with good personal vignettes and history. I spent many years mastering genetics and yet learned new and valuable things from this book. Take a look, you will not be disappointed. -- Robert Trivers, Rutgers University A unique, richly detailed, and fun biography of DNA grounded in deep historical and philosophical knowledge--Rosenfield, Ziff and Van Loon give us everything we need to know about biology's most important molecule. -- Oliver Sacks Right now, you may not know the difference between a prokaryote and a eukaryote, but read this richly detailed work and that could be your next cocktail party opener. Toronto Globe & Mail A clear summary of the DNA story with a lighthearted approach. CHOICE

With humor, depth, and philosophical and historical insight, DNA reaches out to a wide range of readers with its graphic portrayal of a complicated science. Suitable for use in and out of the classroom, this volume covers DNA's many marvels, from its original discovery in 1869 to early-twentieth-century debates on the mechanisms of inheritance and the deeper nature of life's evolution and variety. Even readers who lack a background in science and philosophy will learn a tremendous amount from this engaging narrative. The book elucidates DNA's relationship to health and the cause and cure of disease. It also covers the creation of new life forms, nanomachines, and perspectives on crime detection, and considers the philosophical sources of classical Darwinian theory and recent, radical changes in the understanding of evolution itself. Already these developments have profoundly affected our notions about living things. Borin Van Loon's humorous illustrations recount the contributions of Gregor Mendel, Frederick Griffith, James Watson, and Francis Crick, among other biologists, scientists, and researchers, and vividly depict the modern controversies surrounding the Human Genome Project and cloning.