Back in February, I chose James Watson’s DNA as a science 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.

Years ago, I’d read James Watson’s The Double Helix. While I don’t remember much about it, I recall it being more a memoir of how the structure of DNA was discovered, rather than about the science itself. I picked up DNA by the same author via a lucky bookmooch, and it is beautiful, full of color illustrations. But I didn’t really enjoy reading it. The best part was the pretty illustrations.

DNA’s biggest flaw was its inconsistent tone. I suspect, and I’m not sure why, that it was a ghost-written book, with James Watson’s name on the cover because he’s the famous scientist who discovered DNA to begin with. I could tell when Watson took over the writing: there were digressions and personal stories. A few chapters were chocked full of scientific explanations for how the double helix works, and I often found myself lost. Other chapters had some scientific explanations but were balanced with discussions of political and social impact of those explanations. Because the book is a glossy book, with color photos, I thought these less scientific chapters should have been the focus. It seems the book was trying to talk to both the experts and the non-experts at the same time.

Then again, maybe my inadequacy in science is to blame. It could be that the majority of the readers of nonfiction who pick this beautiful book up will be able to follow it without a problem. One rant: James Watson, in DNA, seemed to have a personal interest in discrediting God in his book. That sounds odd, but what I mean is he frequently (maybe three or four times in 400 pages) commented that the secret of life is in DNA, not a creator. I thought the snide remarks seriously took away from the academic tone of the book. Simply tell the story of DNA, and if you don’t believe in God, I don’t care, but don’t make snide remarks about it. [/end rant]

There were a few things I enjoyed about the book, notably the overview of how genetics and genetic engineering makes the world a better place. I liked to see how genetic engineering of plants, for example, is a way of speeding up the evolutionary biology of plants. In another thousand years, the plants will have figured out how to resist certain bugs, and by producing genetically modified plants now, we are able to help for the better by speeding up the process. I also found the discussion of human genetics interesting, and I look forward to reading more on the subject, albeit in a more non-scientific format.

I finished reading DNA a month ago, and I’ve put off writing a review of it for a month because I’m not sure what else to say. It has plenty of flaws, and a few interesting parts. I’m glad I have the pretty book on my shelf to flip through, but I can’t recommend it for a straightforward overview for the non-scientific among us. The bottom line is I enjoyed learning about genetics, and I do look forward to learning more.

What scientific nonfiction have you read lately? Can you remember any books about genetics? Do any of these interest you at all?

(I already have Matt Ridley’s Genome on my TBR.)

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