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Book Summary and Reviews of A Life Decoded by J. Craig Venter

A Life Decoded by J. Craig Venter

A Life Decoded

My Genome: My Life

by J. Craig Venter

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Published:
  • Oct 2007, 400 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

In 1984 Craig Venter joined the National Institute 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.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Despite the lack of unbiased insight, this is well worth reading for the fascinating perspective it offers on one of the major scientific discoveries of all time." - Publishers Weekly.

“With Venter, there must always be something new swelling on the horizon . . . he alone is taking the measure of life's true diversity and dreaming up new life-forms at the same time.” - Wired.

"[Venter is] not just trying to understand how life works; he’s trying to make it work for him, and us." - The Atlantic Monthly.

"Despite an often heavy burden of technical details, the personalities and machinations involved in Big Science make this an engaging read." - Kirkus Reviews.

This information about A Life Decoded was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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