A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life (Hardcover)

by J. Craig Venter (Author) "Of all my early memories, the most vivid is my total and absolute freedom..." (more)
Key Phrases: public genome effort, life decoded, smallpox genome, White House, Tony White, Francis Collins (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A great deal has been written about Venter as the head of Celera, the private research company that won a race with the National Institutes of Health's Human Genome Project to sequence the human genome. His role in this historic accomplishment has been both vilified and praised. Now, in a clumsily written autobiography, Venter offers his side of the story, portraying himself as the eternal underdog, fighting for truth and attempting to make scientific discoveries solely to help others. He is opposed in this struggle by a cadre of scientists out to advance their own careers, by a federal bureaucracy incapable of rationally using public funds to promote scientific advances and by the heads of corporations willing to do almost anything to make money. Venter accuses all of the big players—the Human Genome Project's Frances Collins and Nobel laureate James Watson, among many others—of outright dishonesty. Ignore the hyperbole and be skeptical of the accusations, but there's still a terribly depressing story about the politics of big science. Venter also attempts to contextualize the controversy swirling around the patenting of DNA sequences. Despite the lack of unbiased insight, this is well worth reading for the fascinating perspective it offers on one of the major scientific discoveries of all time. (Oct. 22)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“With Venter, there must always be something new swelling on the horizon . . . he alone is taking the measure of life’s true diversity and dreaming up new life-forms at the same time.”
—Wired

“[Venter is] not just trying to understand how life works; he’s trying to make it work for him, and us.”
—The Atlantic Monthly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (October 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670063584
• ISBN-13: 978-0670063581
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #381,044 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 112 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bigger than life, October 27, 2007

By	Michael T Kennedy (Mission Viejo, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Having read The Genome War, I had preordered Venter's own story. I was not disappointed. The Publisher's Weekly review sniffs that it is "clumsily written." I would attribute that opinion to one of two possibilities. Either the reviewer never got beyond the early chapters about his childhood, which are marred by cliche and some amateurish prose, or the reviewer does not know enough biology to understand the rest. Once past the early biography, the rest of the book is riveting. I would warn those considering it that a reasonable knowledge of biology and genetics is almost a requirement to enjoy the story. I teach medical students and have studied molecular biology (unknown when I was a medical student) and it taxed my knowledge to the limit to understand his accomplishments. Still, the book reminds me a bit of "Science Fictions," the account of the discovery of the AIDS virus, which pulled no punches in naming villains and fakers. Venter is settling a few scores but, having read the other book, I am inclined to accept his version of the story. Biology research is not beanbag, to paraphase an old aphorism, especially when the stakes are high. There are titanic egos in this story, not just that of the author. If you like biology and genetics and want to read about the biggest big game hunt in biological science history, this is a good place to start.

The best part of the story begins as he returns from Vietnam, a near failure in high school, now stimulated by his experiences as a corpsman to study and go to medical school. He has married a New Zealand girl he met on R&R in Australia. They both go to UCSD once they have mastered junior college. Here he becomes interested in biochemistry, then cell biology. He is the beneficiary of the interest of a noted cell biologist who likes his story and encourages him to do research. Eventually, this leads to a PhD only seven years after his return from the war. He goes on to a medical school faculty position, gradually building his research credentials until he is invited to join the NIH.

He tells the story of his research into the nature of the adrenaline receptor, the link that allows the hormone to stimulate the heart to beat faster and more powerfully. From there, he begins to study the genetics of the receptor. From there, he climbs the path to world fame and meets some nasty surprises in fellow scientists whose personal ambition cancels their devotion to science. I highly recommend this book to those with some background in biology and genetics. He tries to simplify for a broader audience but the subject is still complex. I read the book in two days, actually taking longer than I might with another non-fiction book because it requires concentration and some rereading to understand the details. The science, not the author, is the hero here and it takes some time to understand it all.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Ego Decoded, January 17, 2008

By	DF (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews

Knowing Craig and having had worked at Celera, I was eager to learn more of the details of Craig's early career which I knew only in general strokes. However, also knowing Craig, I was also inclined to take his portrayal with a grain of salt. In this spirit, I would strongly recommend this book as a gripping tale of remarkable success, intrigue, and adventure, as told through the eyes of one of the greatest egomaniacs ever.

The book does wander a bit through Craig's earliest years and the strongest material coincides with the formation of TIGR, Celera, and the JCVI. I can vouch for many of the stories and perspectives from the Celera years, having heard, directly or indirectly, of the events at the time. The interludes about Craig's genome are fascinating, and the science is presented with enough explanation and metaphor that it should be easy to grasp for the non-expert.

However, as much as Craig "sets the record straight", or grinds axes depending on your perspective, his ego tinges the entire book and regrettably diminishes its credibility. It's simply hard to believe a man, who in his own account, was always right, never showed a shred of self-doubt, and never made a mistake beyond trusting the incompetents and villains surrounding him.

Craig also spends his time railing against commercial science and business people, claiming that he never had any aspirations to make money---although he made plenty---and feuded constantly with those that did. Although this seems superficially noble, it does make we wonder at his motives to request tens and hundreds of millions of dollars from venture capitalists if he truly never intended to repay those investments. In his eagerness to please the scientific establishment with his piety, he seems never to consider the opposing viewpoint of his business "partners" nearly as seriously as he delves into the opposing scientists.

All in all, this is an entertaining book for those interested in genomics and/or the politics of big science. Its flaws arise mainly in Craig's tiresome, endless self-congratulations, which in my opinion rise to the level where they undermine the credibility of the story.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A UK View, January 3, 2008

By	Mr Micawber (UK) - See all my reviews

Venter is known as a controversial figure in UK where I live. He became known for trying to make a fortune out of patenting genes. So I wanted to read this book to see just what Venter had to say. It was truly a revelation. The first fifty pages had enough excitement curiosity and adventure for a complete life story. But this is the story of a high school dropout and surfer traumatised by Vietnam war experience becoming a world leading scientist. In fact all his post-war effort has been put into furthering science and medicine to try to understand and enhance life in all forms. The entrepreneurial effort was purely to further scientific discovery rather than a money grubbing exercise widely portrayed. The vindictiveness and double dealing of business and scientific colleagues were but obstacles to overcome in reaching successive goals. After reading the book and seeing his continuing program one is inspired. Controversial is a total misnomer. The UK scientific community and the even BBC do not come out well. It should be read by all aspiring scientists to prepare them for the pitfalls of being a pioneer thinking outside the box. It is not an exaggeration to compare him to Einstein. Apart from that it is a ripping good story with many fascinating scientific facts relating Venter's genome to his life story.