From School Library Journal
Gr 6 Up-Fridell has done an outstanding job of making the history of this technology accessible to readers. He covers its somewhat checkered background and its science, and discusses how it's being used today. Many other topics are discussed, including how the technique is used to identify casualties of war, exonerate incarcerated individuals, and provide accurate answers to historical questions, e.g., to determine if Thomas Jefferson was the father of Sally Hemings's son. The author concludes with some of the concerns about uses of the technology. Black-and-white photographs and reproductions complement the text nicely. The endnotes will be especially helpful for reports, as they include Web addresses. This readable introduction will be a valuable research tool for any school or public library.
Maren Ostergard, Bellevue Regional Library, WA
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 9-12. After breezing through a mini-lesson on the basics of DNA and genetics, Fridell adeptly moves to the 1980s, during which geneticist Alec Jeffreys and future Nobel Prize winner Kary Mullins individually, and almost simultaneously, connected two links of the genetic puzzle that made DNA fingerprinting possible. From those history-shifting discoveries, Fridell then takes readers on a lucid, emotionally charged journey to discern how the technique has been used in the courts to convict the guilty, free the innocent, and even inspire legal treachery. Fridell also takes a look at less well-known ways DNA fingerprinting is used--among them, in the protection of wildlife--and explains how it factored in determining Thomas Jefferson's lineage and in the investigation of Homo sapiens' first habitat on the planet. Fridell consistently gets right to the heart of his subject, melding scientific, forensic, and historic information in an easy-to-grasp, often eye-opening fashion. Roger Leslie
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
