The Violinist’s Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Kean (PDF)

Description

From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes incredible stories of science, history, language, and music, as told by our own DNA. In The Disappearing Spoon, bestselling author Sam Kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table. In The Violinist’s Thumb, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA. There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs. Genes illuminate everything from JFK’s bronze skin (it wasn’t a tan) to Einstein’s genius. They prove that Neanderthals and humans bred thousands of years more recently than any of us would feel comfortable thinking. They can even allow some people, because of the exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists. Kean’s vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species’ future.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “As he did in his debut bestseller, The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean educates readers about a facet of science with wonderfully witty prose and enthralling anecdotes….Kean’s thoughtful, humorous book is a joy to read.” — Publishers Weekly”A science journalist with a flair for words…[Kean’s] language is fluid and accessible, even for the science-challenged.” — Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal”Kean is one of America’s smartest and most charming science writers, and his new book could be perfect for summer readers who prefer some substance with their fun.” — Michael Schaub, National Public Radio “The DNA molecule, Kean asserts, is the ‘grand narrative of human existence’-and he boldly sets out to tell the tale, not only explaining genetics and its scientific history but linking Mendel’s pea shoots to the evolution of early humans….He’s crafted a lively read packed with unforgettable details.” — Sarah Zhang, Discover”Sam Kean is the best science teacher you never had…a slew of intriguing tales, which Kean spins in light, witty prose while also placing them in a broader scientific context.” — Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly”Sam Kean has started to make a habit of taking scientific subjects that inhabit the outskirts of the popular imagination and reintroducing them with healthy doses of history and humanity….Anyone reading this fine book could be excused for jolting upright…with wide-eyed amazement.” — Jesse Singal, Boston Globe”[Kean] writes with a humor and humanity that make him poised to become the next Brian Greene, maybe, or Oliver Sacks-explaining small corners of the universe one case study at a time.” — Monica Hesse, Washington Post”The Violinist’s Thumb delivers the same humor and insight–and delightful anecdotes–about DNA that Kean used to make the periodic table of the elements entertaining in his New York Times bestselling debut The Disappearing Spoon.” — Brooklyn Daily Eagle About the Author Sam Kean is the New York Times bestselling author of Caesar’s Last Breath, The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, The Disappearing Spoon, and The Violinist’s Thumb, all of which were also named Amazon top science books of the year. The Disappearing Spoon was a runner-up for the Royal Society of London’s book of the year for 2010, and The Violinist’s Thumb and The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons were nominated for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award in 2013 and 2015, as well as the AAAS/Subaru SB&F prize. His work has appeared in the Best American Nature and Science Writing, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, the New York Times Magazine, Psychology Today, Slate, Mental Floss, and other publications, and he has been featured on NPR’s “Radiolab,” “All Things Considered,” and “Fresh Air.”

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐*A full summary of this book is available here:

⭐The main argument: In a sense the story of DNA has two strands. On the one hand, as the blueprint of all that lives and the mechanism of heredity, DNA tells the story of life (and the history of life), from the smallest, simplest microbe, to we human beings, who have managed to figure all of this out. Of course, there is still much about DNA that we don’t know. But given that we didn’t even know of its existence until a lowly Swiss physician and biologist named Friedrich Miescher stumbled upon it in the 1860’s, you have to admit we’ve come a long way in such a short time. And this is just where the second strand of the story of DNA begins: the story of our unraveling the mystery. While perhaps not as grandiose as the story of life itself, this detective story is significant in its own right, for it has transformed how we understand all that lives–including ourselves. This is especially the case given that the latest chapters in this story have revealed not only our own genomic blueprint, but the (deeply daunting) fact that we have the power to change this blueprint and thus became the masters of our own future as a species. While each of the strands of the story of DNA could fill a book in their own right (if not several), the author Sam Kean has managed to weave the two together and fit them both in his new book `The Violinist’s Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code’. Kean’s project may seem like a particularly tall task, but he manages to pull it off by way of focusing in on only the main (and/or juiciest) moments and characters throughout.Kean divides his tome into four parts. The first part explores the basics of DNA and heredity, and the earliest discoveries thereof. Here we are introduced to the aforementioned Miescher, as well as Gregor Mendel, who teased out the basic laws of heredity using his famed peas. We also learn of Thomas Hunt Morgan and his team of eccentric lab assistants who managed to marry Mendelism (genetics) with Darwinism (evolution by natural selection) to develop the modern evolutionary synthesis, which stands as the main pillar of modern biology. We also learn about genetic mutations and how these glitches are the key to evolution. Sadly, these glitches also have their downside, which we witness through the story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who had the terrible misfortune of being in the blast area of both of the nuclear bombs that the US dropped on Japan at the end of WWII.Part II of the book explores DNA’s role in the beginnings and evolution of life. In particular, Kean focuses on the major leaps in evolution, from the first microbes, to microbes with complex internal specialization, to multi-celled organisms with specialized cells (which includes all plants and animals), to mammals, to primates, to us. All of this may sound very technical, but Kean manages to keep the story lively with tales of northern seafarers encountering angry polar bears (and learning that biting into their innards can be just as deadly as them biting into yours), and Soviet scientists embarking on a project to create humanzees (yes, that’s a cross between a human and a chimpanzee).Part III of the book turns to human DNA in particular, and what sets us apart as a species. Here we learn how our DNA reveals that our species has passed through several genetic bottlenecks–meaning there have been numerous occasions where our numbers have dwindled to near-extinction levels, with the latest bottleneck occurring as little as 70,000 years ago. This has left us with far less genetic diversity than most other species, including our closest living relatives, the chimps (compared to whom we also have two less chromosomes). We also learn about some of the genes that have contributed to the evolution of our big brains–the one thing that separates us most as a species. Finally, we learn about the role that DNA plays in our peculiar attraction to art.The fourth and final part of the book gets into the intricacies of the structure of DNA, and how our unraveling these intricacies (through the work of Watson and Crick, and the Human Genome Project) has allowed us to manipulate life forms. While these discoveries have opened up enormous opportunities, they have also led to some very poignant questions about just how we should be using this knowledge–especially when it comes to ourselves and our own species. As our knowledge of DNA increases (currently at a rate that exceeds Moore’s Law) these questions will only become more pressing moving forward.Given the remarkably wide range of his subject matter, Kean’s work runs the risk of becoming as tangled and sprawling as a string of DNA. However, the author does manage to keep the sprawl to a minimum (for the most part). Also, the science does get a bit thorny at times (the odd visual would have helped), but again, Kean mostly succeeds in making some very complex science easy to understand; what’s more, Kean’s clever and very down to earth use of language adds some nice flavor to the dish. A full summary of the book is available here:

⭐Fist book by author I have read. Decent integration of information and storytelling. Good intro to the history of genetics. Heavy emphasis on evolution. Transparency about the limits of current scientific knowledge.

⭐The Violinist’s Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Kean”The Violinist’s Thumb” is a book about stories involving DNA and using DNA to solve historical mysteries. Best-selling author of the wonderful “The Disappearing Spoon”, science-writer Sam Kean is at it again but this time he tackles genetics. This 416-page book is broken out into the following four parts: Part I. A, C, G, T, and You: How to Read a Genetic Score, Part II. Our Animal Past: Making Things That Crawl and Frolic and Kill, Part III. Genes and Geniuses: How Humans Became All Too Human and Part IV. The Oracle of DNA: Genetics in the Past, Present and Future.Positives:1. Science writing at its best. Sam Kean has fun with his writing style and is able to immerse science, history, humor and anecdotes into his narrative.2. A well-researched book that is accessible to the masses. Once again, Kean tackles an ambitious project and succeeds.3. Fascinating and important topic of genetics. You will no doubt gain a better understanding of this fascinating science.4. Very good format. Each chapter addresses a question.5. Does a really good job of defining difficult concepts.6. The history of genetics through the eyes of the men and women behind it. Once again (I’m referring to his previous book, “The Disappearing Spoon”), Kean gives female scientists their due and puts into perspective unique obstacles they had to face because of their gender.7. The impact of fruit flies to the study of genetics. “The fly boys”.8. Kean does a wonderful job of providing stories that help the reader understand a key concept of genetics.9. Ties between genetics and linguistics beyond Zipf’s law.10. Find out what scientists routinely cite as the most important master’s thesis ever.11. The power of DNA. DNA clocks…12. An interesting look into cancer. HIV.13. The Human Genome Project. The history behind it.14. One of the most fascinating parasites I’ve ever read about, “Toxoplasma gondii” better known as Toxo…I will not spoil it.15. Notable traits of mammals. Some really cool and bizarre tales or should I say tail.16. The things that make us human. The lack of diversity in human DNA. Our link to the past, Neanderthals. Intelligence.17. There are some amazing facts in this book.18. A fascinating section on human diseases or afflictions to historical icons: Paganini (the reference to the cover), Kennedy, Darwin, Lincoln, etc…19. Nature versus nurture. Epigenetics. Lamarck, Darwin, Mendel…20. An interesting look into homosexuality.21. The future of genetics.22. Links worked fine.Negatives:1. As much as I liked this book, it’s not as good as his bestselling book “The Disappearing Spoon”.2. Kean’s focus is on storytelling over substance.3. The chapter on the race for the Human genome was too “gossipy” for its own good.4. Could have used more illustrations, charts or diagrams.In summary, I enjoy Sam Kean’s style of writing; he’s engaging, witty and does so while enlightening the reader on genetics. Though his focus is on storytelling over content, somehow, some concepts are clearer to me as a result of reading this book. Some of the stories are truly fascinating and some amazing facts will stick with you for a long time. Though not as good as his best-selling book, “The Disappearing Spoon”, your library will welcome this fine book. I recommend it!Further suggestions: ”

⭐” by the same author, ”

⭐” by Brian Clegg, ”

⭐” by Gregory Cochran, ”

⭐” by Richard Dawkins, ”

⭐” Nicholas Wade, ”

⭐” by Neil Shubin, ”

⭐” by Jerry A. Coyne, ”

⭐” by Sean B. Carroll, ”

⭐” by Michael S. Gazzaniga and ”

⭐” by Steven Pinker.

⭐This is a great book about the power of the DNA code and how it was discovered.

⭐Bought for my son who is studying BioChem and he really enjoyed it.

⭐It started well with lots of interesting information, then a third of the way through I started glazing over?

⭐This is a fascinating and easy to read history and account of the study of genetics, written with a down to earth style and with a wonderful sense of humour. I would recommend it to anyone interested in this subject. I really enjoyed it. And you don’t need a degree to understand it, either!

⭐A science book reads like a story book. Interesting and informative. Highly recommend.

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