The Thread of Life: The Story of Genes and Genetic Engineering by Susan Aldridge - Short, clear, yet in depth.

DNA fingerprinting, genetic engineering of food, genetic screening, gene therapy, the human genome project...there is no shortage of news these days about the genetic revolution. The purpose of this book is to take the interested reader behind the headlines to explore the fascinating world of molecular biology. Eschewing jargon, author Susan Aldridge gives an accessible account of the world of DNA and also explores its present and future applications. In the first part of the book, she explains what DNA is and how it functions within living organisms. In the second part, she explores genetic engineering and its applications to humans--such as gene therapy, genetic screening, and DNA fingerprinting. In the third, the author looks at the wider world of biotechnology and how genetic engineering can be applied to such problems as producing vegetarian cheese or cleaning up the environment. Finally, she explains how knowledge of the structure and function of genes sheds light on evolution and our place in the world. Aldridge has written with a light touch full of historical references; her achievement will make rewarding reading for anyone who reads popular accounts of the life sciences.

Short, clear, yet in depth.
This is a straightforward exposition; it doesn't try to come at the material from a novel angle (cf Ridley's "Genome), nor does it dwell on arguments such as nature vs. nurture. What it does do is explain the science in remarkable depth in a short book. For me, much of the material was review/clarification, but I suspect it would work for those with less background. Aldridge is disciplined in what she covers, writes clearly, uses diagrams when it will help, and seems to choose just the correct level of detail. She includes details you might not expect to find, when they are important: for example, some human proteins cannot be made by bacteria because humans add sugars to these protein molecules AFTER they are created using RNA, and bacteria do not have this capability. I do wish the index were more complete, it just is not helpful enough if you wish to review something covered earlier. Also, in the last section on bio-technology, Aldridge is much less disciplined, tries to cover too much too fast, and I found myself with numerous unanswered questions.

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