Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28913 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Biologist, October 1, 2006
An enthralling account.

Review
Challenging, but rewarding. (Vanessa Thorpe, Observer )

Its the most interesting and significant addendum to Darwin's theory I think I've come across since Richard Dawkins explained how genes are the mechanism for evolution. (Independent on Sunday, )

An enthralling account...The author has accomplished something quite breathtaking... Moreover, he brings the science alive...he is always accessible lively , thought provoking and informative. Every Biologist should read this book

Biologist, October 1, 2006
He brings the science alive.

Customer Reviews

Mitochondria Revisited
Cellular biology is a subject, which falls between the interesting and complicated. It is for this reason I warn the reader that unless you have an unquenchable thirst for this subject, think twice about reading this book. For the biologically-orientated individual however, this is an excellent book, which takes account of recent developments and discoveries. It is very readable and the author has made a complex subject a somewhat absorbing field. The reason for the 4 stars is the price. Given the lack of illustrations, the price is a bit on the high side.

Best book of the year
Although I was initially put off by the gimmicky title this is a really good book and should suit those with an interest in cellular biology or evolution.
I feared that this would be one of those pop-science books full of sloppy terminology and exclaimation marks.In the event this was a fascinating read about the evolution of the eukaryotic cell, and the role of mitochondria. Difficult to put down. Buy it.

Ohh mitochondria, tell us the truth
What a book, absolutely fascinating and highly recommended, although I must say that this is not an easy book, in fact is kind of complex if you are not acquainted with the subject. This is not a critic, thing is I would not change a bit of it, but in my opinion, people should have a little knowledge of cellular metabolism and biochemistry before attempting this book.

After reading Dawkins book about the selfish gene, it was inevitable for me to wonder about life origins, why unicellular organisms have that tendency to complexity and to group itself, and how all this machinery works. This book provide a thorough and absorbing biography of Mitochondria and its symbiosis with eukaryotes, what is the function of each one, why there are two sexes and why we aged and finally become history. As you will see, our understanding of these matters is rather modest, the author insinuate possible solutions to some of the big questions, but in any case the subject is so interesting that you read this book excited all the way to the end.

How beautiful is life and how complex ... you can see that just watching a little fly and wonder how on earth this insect manage to fly, as if eukaryotes have a previous knowledge of Physics, as if they have all the basic solutions of nature in a template. I just know one thing: I want to know and read more about it.