Ease Reading-Find Your Next Favorite Book

Hot Search

The Genome War: How Craig Venter Tried to Capture the Code of Life and Save the World

james shreeve

... Show More
The long-awaited story of the science, the business, the politics, the intrigue behind the scenes of the most ferocious competition in the history of modern science—the race to map the human genome.
On May 10, 1998, biologist Craig Venter, director of the Institute for Genomic Research, announced that he was forming a private company that within three years would unravel the complete genetic code of human life—seven years before the projected finish of the U.S. government’s Human Genome Project. Venter hoped that by decoding the genome ahead of schedule, he would speed up the pace of biomedical research and save the lives of thousands of people. He also hoped to become very famous and very rich. Calling his company Celera (from the Latin for “speed”), he assembled a small group of scientists in an empty building in Rockville, Maryland, and set to work.
At the same time, the leaders of the government program, under the direction of Francis Collins, head of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, began to mobilize an unexpectedly unified effort to beat Venter to the prize—knowledge that had the potential to revolutionize medicine and society.

The stage was set for one of the most thrilling—and important—dramas in the history of science. The Genome War is the definitive account of that drama—the race for the greatest prize biology has had to offer, told by a writer with exclusive access to Venter’s operation from start to finish. It is also the story of how one man’s ambition created a scientific Camelot where, for a moment, it seemed that the competing interests of pure science and commercial profit might be gloriously reconciled—and the national repercussions that resulted when that dream went awry.

392 pages, Paperback

First published October 15,2003

This edition

Format
392 pages, Paperback
Published
June 28, 2005 by Random House Publishing Group
ISBN
9780345433749
ASIN
0345433742
Language
English

More editions

About the author

Profile Image for james shreeve

james shreeve

... Show More

Readers also enjoyed

Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 48 votes)
5 stars
16(33%)
4 stars
14(29%)
3 stars
18(38%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
48 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
erialc
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
I am not sure I could like a book where the main character is so loathsome ... yeah Craig ... you are a creepy person ... you make scientists seem, ummmmm... mad, yeah mad. How in the world did you get to be so self-important? You want to know why so much government money is wasted ... look no further ... it goes to propping up the huge egos of Venter and his ilk. Sad, sad, sad. Did I learn anything from this book? yes. Did I really want to know? No.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Lozane
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
I liked it. Lots of information I didn't know told well. The story moves along quickly but doesn't seem to leave anything out. It never bogs down though. Recommended.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
KGohan_Kame
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More

Though he might be admired for his lofty scientific goals, Venter is not a well-liked man. At the time in question, the government called him "Darth Vader." Shreeve merely describes him both as "an inspiration" and an "opportunistic maniac." Genome War pays close attention to this ego-driven biologist. Despite his facade, he comes across as a complex man with deep insecurities. Shreeve, who gained full access to Celera, handles technical information well and reveals the inner bowels of the company. We see the human genome war exclusively from Celera's battle lines, but this perspective (and Venter's often flat portrayal) barely detract from a compelling story about the search for our genetic make-up. To be continued, for sure, with battle lines possibly redrawn.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.

0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
GangstaSquirrel
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
This book offers a plausible, journalistic account of the mapping of the human genome: plausible in the sense that the motives, machinations, and manipulations ring true enough; journalistic in the sense that vivid personalities are very much to the fore, and that deeper issues are more alluded to than thoroughly explored. Shreeve clearly talked to people on the government side of things, but spent the bulk of his time with those at Celera. One result of this is that while the government/academic perspective of free access to data is mentioned, the real and profound ethical questions about the implications of private ownership of such knowledge go unexplored.

For some of the anecdotes, Shreeve the embedded journalist was clearly present, for others not. The line of demarcation is not as clear as I would have liked.

With the caveats mentioned, however, Shreeve has created an interesting and entertaining narrative of the ways that personalities shape pursuit of knowledge. While big egos distort the quest for answers to big questions, Shreeve seems to argue that without big egos, the questions would never be answered at all.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Sahiko
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
An interesting subject and not a bad book but you need a spread-sheet to keep track of the dozens of characters, the entities they work for or are members of, how those entities themselves are related, what their agendas were ... I eventually gave up on trying to keep it all straight.
Past the half-way point I began to feel it was getting rather repetitive and struggled to keep going but I did because I wanted to see the main "plot" resolved.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
zethras
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
An outstanding book - proves once again that truth can be stranger than fiction. What a cast of characters and the author does an excellent job of describing them. The author is also very good at using metaphors and analogies to explain the sometimes complex scientific and technological aspects of unraveling the mysteries of the genome.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Sabaisms
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
Very interesting story both from a scientific and business standpoint, and very well written. This is a prime example of how big science can involve and generate big business. The main figure in the story is a highly unusual man named Craig Venter. For a scientist he has the most unusual background you can possibly imagine, which adds considerably to the interest of the story.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
TheGirlOfStone
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
Good book. Certainly a good telling of the events from inside the minds of those who participated. Due to some access issues it was a little one sided, but the author tells why and is very up front about it. Would recommend to anyone who was interested in how they came to map the genome. So sad that the darker aspects of humanity (greed, jealousy, pride) interfered so much with it. It could have been done faster and possibly better if everyone had been able to play nice. A lesson for future endeavors, but one we have not yet learned in our thousands of years of recorded history.
0 0 Reply
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.