The Triumph of the Embryo (Paperback)

by Lewis Wolpert (Author), Debra Skinner (Illustrator)

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.

Product Description
An age old mystery, the development of the microscopic embryo into exceedingly complex plants and animals--into roses and cacti, elephants and blue whales, apes and human beings--stands as one of the most fundamental and important questions facing modern biologists. How does one cell give rise to so many millions of cells? How do they divide so as to form hearts, brains, eyes, and ears? Where in this pin-head-sized object is all this information encoded? Now, in The Triumph of the Embryo, biologist Lewis Wolpert answers these and other questions in a lucid tour of embryology, which offers the latest theories in this fascinating field.
Filled with rich and unusual examples, metaphors, and descriptions, Wolpert moves beyond his overall narrative to discuss the many issues it raises, such as aging, cancer, regeneration, and evolution. Readers discover why all calico cats are female; encounter a fruit fly engineered to grow a leg out of its head; and find out why there seems to be a 110 year age barrier for the human body. Clearly written and illustrated with striking examples, The Triumph of the Embryo offers a dazzling look at the marvels of modern biology.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Reprint edition (March 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198547994
• ISBN-13: 978-0198547990
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,659,933 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

1 of 1 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.