A Few Books on Biological Science (DNA, The X in Sex, and a Graphic Adaptation of Darwin)

Back in February, I chose James Watson’s DNA as my project book. At more than 400 pages, it intimidated me, because I’m not normally a reader of science books. I was hoping it was a good balance of technical and “pop” science. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best book on the subject, and much of it left me feeling confused. It took me the full month to plow through it.

Yet, despite that not-so-great beginning, I wanted to read more about genetics, so I also picked up The X in Sex by David Bainbridge, which focuses on the genetics of the sex chromosomes. It was a very engaging and easy to understand book, and it has left me even more interested in the chromosomes that make up my body.

Finally, my two-month-old hold request for Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species: A Graphic Adaptation by Michael Keller and illustrated by Nicole Rager Fuller came in too. Although this is not about genetics, it is about the evolutionary biology behind all species, and I found the beautiful graphic perspective to be a nice introduction to Darwin.

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From Conception to Birth: A Life Unfolds by Alexander Tsiaras

When we found out in early 2007 that a little bundle of joy would be joining our family, we headed to the bookstore. Alexander Tsiaras’s lovely coffee table book, From Conception to Birth: A Life Unfolds, came back home with us. I loved pouring over the graphically enhanced photographs of babies in the womb, imagining how my own little one was developing. Now that he is almost a year old, I still enjoy it. Continue reading »