Customer Reviews

The Human Genome: A User's Guide

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I had this text for a MCB 10 (genetics) course at UC Davis in California. I found the science part of it interesting and for the most part helpful. I think the authors really tried to keep the reader's interest, and make a subject that is not always thought of as fascinating a little more light and relevant. People may disagree about including anecdotes in a textbook, but I think the anecdotes, while they may have been out of place, made the book more readable for me. Also, I really admired the way the authors focused on the individual aspects of the disorders they mentioned. As a young woman with Turners Syndrome, I can say that it was very refreshing that for once we were not portrayed as genetic mutants, and that individual differences that occur in any disorder was pointed out. I think it's sad, looking down the reviews, that only the bad reviews were seen as helpful. I would hope that people will give this book a chance.

Science touches the lives of more people today than ever before, and The Human Genome: A User's Guide serves as a simplified but complete compendium of human genetics to be used by scientists and nonscientists alike. Subjects are explained clearly and conversationally but without the loss of the all-important details and facts, making this book a highly interesting read.

Here at last is a textbook based on the principle that critical thinking, not memory work, is the key to developing a thorough understanding of and enthusiasm for the field of human genetics. This book is definitely "user friendly" -- it takes an irresistibly creative, personable and often humorous approach to its subject. The passion of the authors for their subject is obvious. Many cutting-edge and often controversial topics are covered, including the fledgling genetics of various aspects of human behavior. At the same time, the authors strongly encourage scientific responsibility and serious contemplation of the ethical issues involved in such research. This is a book about genetics that really matters, and it is sure to hold students' interest. I highly recommend this text to anyone teaching human genetics at the college level. It renders even the most challenging concepts accessible to all, and thus is suitable for both bio majors and non-majors (psych, etc.) alike. Students who use this text will never look at genetics -- or humanity -- in the same way again!

I am a Genetics student at the University of Kansas with the intent of beginning medical school in August. I strongly feel this text has helped me to be better prepared on this topic. I enjoyed the style in which this book was written since you can almost hear the authors speak directly to you as you're reading. I especially admire and appreciate the authors' human sides come across in the examples that are given. Too bad my other science textbooks aren't as interesting!

I personally think that the first edition was unfairly reviewed-A couple of the ridiculously negative reviewers who bashed the book (without providing much explanation or insight) were probably written by former students whom the authors flunked, since the attacks appear personal. Of course, the first edition wasn't perfect, although it was pretty darn good! I recently had a chance to peek at the new, 2nd edition, and was thrilled to see so many improvements. The language is much clearer and easier to follow since the authors use a nice conversational tone and less-technical language. The color art is really impressive and ADDS to the new edition. The book is at least twice as long and packed with current, up-to-date information such as human cloning, the human genome project and genetic diseases. I definitely recommend buying this book!

Sometimes the fates deal us strange genetic hands. Sometimes precious children are born who may, or may not, have the politically correct number of sex chromosomes. Sometimes the chromosome number is right but the genitalia isn't.

What has so impressed me about section II, "How Genes Determine Our Sex", of this book is how Dr. Hawley and Catherine Mori have taken a sensitive, taboo subject and discussed it frankly, openly and with refreshing lightness. Most authors are afraid to tackle the subject of sex chromosome variations without cloaking the work in a suffocatingly dark and depressing seriousness.

I loved the "get real" feel to this entire book. The frequent, chatty comments between the authors are a delightful window into their individual ways of thinking.

The use of "real people" stories always work. Being able to eavesdrop on the been-there-done-that personal experiences makes this a textbook worth keeping long after the lights are off, the door is closed and the professor has left on sabbatical!

Well done.

I had the tremendous honor of being taught genetics by two brilliant scientists at the University of Missouri Kansas City, one of whom was Dr. R. Scott Hawley (the other was Dr. Saul Honigberg). Dr. Hawley's name is regnant in the world of meiotic genetics, and a significant percentage of modern biological knowledge can be found within the many pages he has authored. Not only is Dr. Hawley a brilliant scientist, he is also a gifted story-teller. He has an excellent sense of humor, and he has repeatedly proven he can make a grown man cry with his heart-tugging stories of real people affected by very real disease. He infuses his literature on science and medicine with a dose of compassion, much-needed by students of science, like myself, who spend hours trying to see disease in terms of molecules rather than human faces.

I am not very familar with any other work done by Julie Richards, but if this text is representative of her fare I would say she too is quite gifted.

This is an excellent book.

That said, I would caution anyone who wants a very deep and detailed study of the science of genetics to look elsewhere because this book merely contains the essential molecular information for understanding the rest of the text (it is, after all, "a user's guide," not a PhD-student's guide). Still, it is an excellent, extremely informative read, with some paradigm-shifting perspectives to offer.

This SECOND EDITION is a major improvement on the first (which was already pretty good). It's an excellent text on modern Human Genetics. Not too overwhelming for non-experts, in fact perfect for the absolute novice, but enough science to really get the gist of the issues. It goes a long way to explaining some difficult concepts that I haven't seen treated correctly elsewhere.

Science touches the lives of more people today than ever before, and The Human Genome: A User's Guide serves as a simplified but complete compendium of human genetics to be used by scientists and nonscientists alike. Subjects are explained clearly and conversationally, but without the loss of the all important details and facts, making this book a highly interesting read.

I enjoyed reading Dr. Hawley's book. I found it very interesting and useful in the study of genetics. A few of the chapters were very advanced and difficult to read and there were a few points that he could have elaborated on, but over all the book covered most of the important topics that are pertinant to a broad study of genetics.