Customer Reviews

A Life Decoded: My Genome---My Life

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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Craig Venter is human and all too human with his struggles with his colleagues. His science and motivation was founded he claims in the work as a medic in Vietnam. He is an excellent storyteller of his early life. The story he tells of his science is exciting to anyone whose iterest in the developing science of genetics has been stimulated over the years. His creative approach to many of life's questions is well documented in the book. Just enough science for the casual and educated reader. I highly recommend this book.

Craig Venter is probably one of the most influential scientists during the last 20 years.

I enjoyed the book. It was interesting to hear about his life story and how he ended up being one of the leading scientists in the human genome project. It is also interesting to me as someone working on his Ph.D to learn about all the politics that occur in science.

My dad read this book as well, and didn't like it as much. He thought Craig was a bit too arrogaunt, a common complaint about Dr. Venter. Anyhow, still very interesting. Considering Dr. Venter's recent breakthroughs in synthetic biology, I am sure he will continue to be a leader in science.

The audio book version was well read and easy to listen to as well.

Dr. Venter's book is nothing short of wonderful. But why didn't he voice this Audiobook himself??? Craig's a most compelling public speaker. His deeply personal autobiography, observations, confessions and self-styled successes would have been SO much more effective if we could hear his actual voice. I mean no disrespect to the narrator, who is professional and pleasant enough (if, to my ear, over-enunciated and under-emotional). But - unless you are visually impaired - you are much better off buying this book in text form; then finding Dr. Venter in a video or audio clip online to hear his true voice; then reading the text version imagining him speaking it.