The Single Helix: A Turn Around the World of Science [Hardcover]

Steve Jones (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0316731935 | ISBN-13: 978-0316731935 | Publication Date: November 1, 2005

Steve Jones’ barnstorming survey is science writing at its best, veering nimbly from the chemistry of gold to the failures of funding, the chaos in the heavens to the fight against creationism, the optical illusions of tartan plaid to the mathematics of elections. Witty and packed with human interest, it also features interviews with playwrights, poets, and film directors, along with plenty on the Double Helix and the author’s own specialty, the Snail Helix. In a hundred succinct pieces, he reveals the extraordinary breadth and the profound shallowness of scientific knowledge. Educational and entertaining, this is a brilliant meditation on modern science.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Delightful compilation of 100 easy pieces . . . one of the world's best writer-scientists . . . Jones is the Alan Bennett of science' - Financial Times 'Jones once again shows that, for all its difficulties, science can still be fun' - Independent 'One of the most engaging and revealing portraits of science and its practitioners you'll ever read' - Daily Express 'Wonderful examples of scientific storytelling . . . Simply fascinating' - Simon Singh, Sunday Telegraph 'Short essays ranging from astrophysics to anthropology . . . Perfect for anyone after occasional food for thought' - New Scientist

About the Author

Professor of Genetics at University College London, Steve Jones gave the Reith Lectures in 1991 and presented a TV series on human genetics and evolution. A columnist for the Daily Telegraph, he frequently appears on radio and TV.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316731935
• ISBN-13: 978-0316731935
• Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 3.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,489,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars The Single Helix, March 5, 2011

By 

Spider Monkey (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Single Helix: A Turn Around the World of Science (Paperback)

This is a strangely dissatisfying read, which is a real shame as Jones is an excellent author and i've enjoyed many of his other books. The problem with this book is that each essay is adapted from his newspaper column and therefore the topics are varied, but are not explored in any real depth. You find yourself just getting interested and the essay has finished. Also, each essay is very aimless, the facts that make it up are fascinating and leave you marveling at nature and the wonder of science, but they don't lead anywhere and very few essays seems to make a worthy/satisfactory point. All of this is a real shame, as this book is written in Jones usual clear and entertaining style, but I'd say this is a book for popular science beginners and not one for those who have read and enjoyed past Jones books, or other popular science books. A great premise, but it could've delivered so much more.

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2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointment, January 10, 2008

By 

Aydin Orstan (Germantown, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Single Helix: A Turn Around the World of Science (Paperback)

This is a collection of short essays previously published in the Daily Telegraph. Jones is a biologist who has worked with snails. Being a snail biologist myself, I was excited when I first heard about this book. Alas, these essays are too superficial and too tied in with contemporary occasions to have much lasting value. Any scientific insight is almost non-existent. And despite the cover photo, only a few have anything to do with snails. In the preface Dr. Jones writes: "On looking back I am depressed to see how many of those columns [in the Daily Telegraph] were devoted to carping, the age-old prerogative of the academic, with complaints about cash mixed with generalised ill will. Such grumbles soon become dull and none has made it to this book." I think many made it to this book.

4.0 out of 5 stars The bad news and the good news, November 4, 2006

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Single Helix: A Turn Around the World of Science (Paperback)

The bad news is that this book deals with such a wide and varied set of topics, that it's impossible to categorise it. The good news is that Jones presents each subject so well and with such enthusiasm that it's a delightful read. You may read it front to back, the reverse, or purely at random. Such is the nature of a book of selected essays on the wonders of nature and the methods of studying them. Sifting through his columns in Britain's "Daily Telegraph" to select merely a hundred must have been a daunting task, but Jones managed it admirably. As the publisher's blurb declaims, it's "a hundred easy pieces about science". They fail to mention each one is a treat to encounter.

Jones has a string of excellent books to his credit: "Almost Like A Whale" ["Darwin's Ghost" in the US] and "Y-The Descent of Men" being among the better known. He knows how to write to an informed and interested audience. He's so good at it that he's won a medal for "increasing public knowledge of science". The title derives from his work on snails and the notoriety gained by James Watson's account of the revelation of DNA's structure. Although Jones' own field is biology, he's able to venture into other disciplines in this collection. Even history is probed for unusual information - the "Telemobiloskop" is certain to gain your attention at the next cocktail party. For a biologist - and a malacologist at that, it might seem out of place for Jones to dabble in astrophysics or physics itself, yet he manages it with panache. In today's world, however, genetics plays too significant a role to be passed over lightly, and Jones provides several excellent items on the topic.

Applying a sense of irony and humour throughout these pages, Jones easily dispels the image of the dour scientist. He's not above examining his own mistakes, even while depicting critics as "vultures drawn to carrion". Nobody "peer reviews" books on science aimed at the general public, and things slip by. His discussion of errors he made in "Almost Like a Whale" is accompanied by his views on evolutionary psychology. In the process, he reminds us that we're a social species, and must tread lightly in making generalisations about how that situation is manifested in science writing. It would have been nice if Jones had avoided the lure one scientist-essayist fell prey to. Instead of baseball, however, at one point Jones deals with the national sport of his own. The axes he has to grind are kept strictly associated with science. A highly readable, entertaining and useful book. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]