A book I won't finish, and a few words on one I did.
The $1,000 Genome: The Revolution in DNA Sequencing and the New Era of Personalized Medicine by Kevin Davies.
First, a total OT: I named a character in my book Kevin Davies. It was really jarring to see the name on a book on CD.
Next. A quick review.
I'm listening on CD, so I can't skim, which probably colours this book for me. I read the summary, and thought it was going to be a bit focused on the movers and shakers of the pay-to-play genetics world, but it's, about 1/3 of the way in, only about them. I'm not really interested in the personalities of the people who founded Navigenics or the revoltingly cutesily named "23 and Me" which makes me want to hurl, I'm interested in the science behind those, and that science, despite Davies having a PhD in genetic, and being an editor at some major scientific journals, is just not there. So blah.
Also. The book was published in 2010 and it's already outdated. I'll be returning it to the library today.
A book I did finish that was also not great, though a bit better: Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives by Michael Specter. Another book I was expecting great things from, but the author is a bit of a crank, imo, who wanted to make sure he was fair and balanced and criticized right wing denialism as well as the left wing version, and he ended up sounding petulant at times. In addition, he never really delved into the why this was happening (Paul Offit, in one of this vaccination/autism books does a much better job, as does Seth Mnookin in vaccine book). Specter seems to think that Vioxx explains ALL the big pharma mistrust in this country, and really, it doesn't. (Plus, eh, Vioxx was a pretty horrid thing, and I don't quite see how denialism plays into it) There is something else going on, deep in the American psyche, and while others have tried to get there, and come tantalizingly close, Specter doesn't even get that far. He just rants, and not very well, about it.
In addition I found his writing to be sub-standard, and the whole book felt rather "all over the place".
Still in need of a good book to listen to on CD in the car. I'm waiting on my next Pratchett book (it'll be a while), and I'd like a science non-fiction break, but good non fiction that can be listened to in the car is harder to find than one would think.
First, a total OT: I named a character in my book Kevin Davies. It was really jarring to see the name on a book on CD.
Next. A quick review.
I'm listening on CD, so I can't skim, which probably colours this book for me. I read the summary, and thought it was going to be a bit focused on the movers and shakers of the pay-to-play genetics world, but it's, about 1/3 of the way in, only about them. I'm not really interested in the personalities of the people who founded Navigenics or the revoltingly cutesily named "23 and Me" which makes me want to hurl, I'm interested in the science behind those, and that science, despite Davies having a PhD in genetic, and being an editor at some major scientific journals, is just not there. So blah.
Also. The book was published in 2010 and it's already outdated. I'll be returning it to the library today.
A book I did finish that was also not great, though a bit better: Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives by Michael Specter. Another book I was expecting great things from, but the author is a bit of a crank, imo, who wanted to make sure he was fair and balanced and criticized right wing denialism as well as the left wing version, and he ended up sounding petulant at times. In addition, he never really delved into the why this was happening (Paul Offit, in one of this vaccination/autism books does a much better job, as does Seth Mnookin in vaccine book). Specter seems to think that Vioxx explains ALL the big pharma mistrust in this country, and really, it doesn't. (Plus, eh, Vioxx was a pretty horrid thing, and I don't quite see how denialism plays into it) There is something else going on, deep in the American psyche, and while others have tried to get there, and come tantalizingly close, Specter doesn't even get that far. He just rants, and not very well, about it.
In addition I found his writing to be sub-standard, and the whole book felt rather "all over the place".
Still in need of a good book to listen to on CD in the car. I'm waiting on my next Pratchett book (it'll be a while), and I'd like a science non-fiction break, but good non fiction that can be listened to in the car is harder to find than one would think.