The Triumph of the Embryo [Paperback]

Lewis Wolpert PhD (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 2008

"This is a clear and engagingly written book," declared Nature, "recommended certainly to nonspecialists, but also to developmental biologists." Its exploration of how single cells multiply and develop offers an accessible look at a difficult subject. Easy-to-understand descriptions of experimental studies offer fascinating insights into aging, cancer, regeneration, and evolution. 1993 edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Embryology or, as it is often called, developmental biology is the difficult and complex study of how a single cell can multiply and become an adult animal or human. By dividing this book into short topics that build upon each other (and are cross-referenced within the text), Wolpert makes this difficult subject interesting and easy for a layperson to understand. Each topic, from regeneration to wiring the brain, is discussed and illustrated with easy-to-understand descriptions of the experiments by which his points were either proved or discovered. Wolpert very carefully separates his assumptions and scientific theories from known fact, which is particularly helpful to the lay reader. There is no other current book about embryology aimed at nonspecialists; this book complements Scott Gilbert's more technical Developmental Biology (Sinauer, 1988). Recommended for public and college libraries.
-Eric D. Albright, Galter Health Sciences Lib., Northwestern Univ., Chicago
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

About the Author:
Lewis Wolpert is Professor of Biology as Applied to Medicine at University College, London. He co-authored A Passion for Science, a collection of interviews conducted by Wolpert for BBC-Radio.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications; First edition & printing in this form edition (December 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486469298
• ISBN-13: 978-0486469294
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,148,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good layman's book on embryology, February 22, 2005

By 

Christopher Doherty (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Triumph of the Embryo (Hardcover)

This is a short, easily read, and absolutely riveting book. I was overjoyed to find this book at a college library. I've long wanted to learn more about embryology but had found it impossible to find a book written for the layman. I figured this should be an interesting subject for the common reader (like myself), but all I could find were dry cursory descriptions in bio textbooks--which made no attempt to make embryonic life seem relevant or understandable.

Through this book I've found that embryology is absolutely fascinating. Embryos exist through the most biologically astonishing parts of human (or any animal) life. I can't even begin to relate how many interesting things are in this book. To me the whole book is worth the jaw-dropping description of 'gastrulation', a process I had never heard of. When I looked this up in my anatomy and physiology textbook, it was scarcely (and quite uninterestingly) covered. And yet "it's been said that I claim that gastrulation is, far more than birth, marriage, or death, the one important event in your life", Wolpert says, and I'd say he's right on. Other things like fertilization, DNA, implantation, and the development of body structures are readily explained.

This book seems to presume no prior biological or medical knowledge. I have little scientific background and I followed it well. It is not drily written like textbook, but told more like a narrative. I highly recommend it for the average science reader and for the beginning student of biology.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not necessarily for the layman, February 16, 2009

By 

Book Reviewer (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Triumph of the Embryo (Paperback)

I don't agree with the hype that this book is "easily read and understood by the layman". I think one needs a basic biological background to understand it. This is a good book if, like me, you had a cursory and very dry introduction to embryology in the past, and wish to fill in the gaps. If you don't have some basic scientific knowledge, forget it.

The writing style, in British English, is at times awkward and clumsy, with attempts at humor that seem rather precious to American ears. Certain key words like 'homeobox' are also casually tossed around several chapters before they are actually defined. The writing level varies rather widely, at graduate biology level in some places while in other areas the discussion was quite simplistic - far too much so, with important points in late emybryonic development, cancer development, and genetic mutation being glossed over or completely left out.

I think the concept of writing a readable embryology text is a good one, and this was a brave attempt - it's certainly better than most of the available dry textbooks on the subject. However, this book struck me as trying too hard to satisfy both the layman and the scientist, and comes up short for both audiences - half of one and six dozen of the other, so to speak.

I would love to see this book expanded to include more detail on the stuff people really want to know - what about human genetic issues and mutations? What about cancer genes? The book also needs a style overhaul to speak at the same level throughout. That being said, it is a mostly an enjoyable book, if embryology is something you like.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Fading Golden Oldie, January 16, 2011

By 

P. Kenneth P. Nunn "Kenneth Nunn" (Sydney) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Triumph of the Embryo (Paperback)

Lewis Wolpert is one of the scientific community's great communicators. This book was a classic in promoting public scientific literacy to an earlier generation. It still has much to offer but has faded due to lack of revision and lack of illustration. I think if Lewis Wolpert gave this book 3 days revision and added some of the beautiful pictures available on embryological development at his disposal it would speak again to a new generation. Perhaps he could give it to an aspiring young colleague who he trusts with its revision if he has not the time. I also think he would be kinder as he has aged to former generations of researchers for the ideas that turned out to be incorrect. He has been an absolutely outstanding author preparing the way for the current Evo Devo revolution.