Product Description

Steve Jones's highly acclaimed, double prize-winning, bestselling first book is now fully revised to cover all the new genetic breakthroughs from GM food to Dolly the sheep.'An essential sightseer's guide to our own genetic terrain.' Peter Tallack, Sunday Telegraph 'Superb and stimulating!an exhilarating trip around the double spiral of DNA, a rush of gravity-defying concepts and wild swerves of the scientific imagination.' J.G. Ballard, Daily Telegraph 'Not so much divination as demystification! An attempt to bring genetics and evolution more into the public domain. If, for instance, you ever wondered just what genetic engineering is about, here is as good a place as any to discover. Few have Jones's ability to communicate a difficult idea with such humour, clarity, precision and ease.' Laurence Hurst, Times Higher; 'Sensitive to the social issues raised by genetics! yet Jones's interest reaches beyond contemporary social issues to the human past, to what genetics can and cannot tell us about our evolution and patterns of social development. He interleaves a broad knowledge of biology with considerations of cultural, demographic and -- as his title indicates -- linguistic history. At once instructive and captivating.' Daniel J.Kevles, London Review of Books

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #76223 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

About the Author
Steve Jones is Professor of Genetics and Head of the Galton Laboratory, University College, London. In 1991 he gave the BBC Reith Lectures on the subject of genetics and evolution. In 1996, the Royal Society presented him with the Michael Faraday Award given annually to the scientist who has done the most to further the public understanding of science. Professor Jones was born in Wales, educated in Scotland and lives in London. He is co-editor of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution, and joint author of Genetics for Beginners and of the Open University's final-year genetics textbook. On balance he prefers snails to humans.

Customer Reviews

(gtzer@hotmail.com) from Scotland is wrong
I learnt a great deal from the Language of the Genes. Jones not only writes lucidly about some rather subtle technical issues, he also gives readers space to think about the subject for themselves, which is not at all easy to pull off. I reject the suggestion that the book is cliched or inaccurate and that non-expert readers will be mislead. Though not a molecular biologist myself, I had fairly good knowledge of the subject before coming to the Language of the Genes. I found no conflict with my existing understanding.

I have read a great many popular science books - I even wrote a PhD thesis on them - and the Language of Genes is one of the most finely crafted, well-balanced examples of the genre I have ever come across. It is a good read for experts and non-experts alike. I can not think of a better introduction to genetics for people starting from scratch. I continue to recommend it regularly. It is the book I gave to my granny when she became interested in the background of the GMO debate.

A clear introduction to genetics
This is a clear, yet thoroughly engaging, look at our genes and how they affect us and society. It is lucid and easy to understand and not at all bogged down by scientific jargon or obscure references. It is a pleasure to read such an informative book, put forward in a highly entertaining way. A must read for any popular science book fan, or anyone with a passing interest in genes/genetics.

A superb read
An amazing book, beautifully written and incredibly informative. Steve Jones writes in a witty, interesting and entertaining style and manages to educate the reader without the reader even being aware of it! There's no off-putting jargon, even complex ideas are explained clearly using excellent analogies, and the book is full of fascinating examples and stories which you will be quoting for many years to come. This is an essential read for anyone who is even vaguely interested in genetics - and an absolute must if, like me, you're sort of aware of what it's all about but not quite sure ...!