This wonderful book uses the power of extensive, inventive graphics paired with well-chosen text to illustrate and explain many important aspects of genetics and DNA. It introduces concepts at a level basic enough for the general reader, but also includes material detailed and deep enough to interest an expert. The graphic style and panel layout are reminiscent of a comic book only in the best sense -- they make the reading experience rapid and effortless.
For entertainment value the factual content is woven into a story involving hyperintelligent invertebrates which inhabit the planet Glargal and vaguely resemble sea cucumbers. The Glargalians are plagued by a heritable disorder which threatens their existence, and they have launched an extensive study of Earth creatures in an effort to understand and perhaps cure their own genetic affliction. The narrator of the book is the interplanetary biologist Bloort 183, who is reporting on his findings to the Glargalian leadership council. The obsequious behavior of Bloort toward the supreme leader provides comic relief, but the background story is wisely kept exactly that -- it interferes not at all with with the book's main objective, which is to transmit Bloort 183's copiously illustrated report directly to the reader.
The story begins with a brief reprise of our planet's origin, the appearance of lightning-induced chemical compounds, their extension into self-reproducing molecules, and self-assembly of the first unicellular bacteria. More detail is added as the narrative progresses to multicellular organisms, prehistoric flora and fauna, and eventually hominids. The remaining 90 percent of the book explains and illustrates in considerable depth the reproductive and genetic characteristics of modern animals and humans, both at the cellular level and as expressed in the resulting variety among individuals.
A primary source of the book's ability to sustain reader interest is the highly successful integration of text and graphics. An excellent script by Mark Schultz is ingeniously (and often humorously) rendered in a pictorial style that continuously illustrates why the bromide "a picture is worth a thousand words" has proved so durable. Mr. Schultz's job was to create a concise but comprehensive textual frame which allows the graphics to amplify the message with maximum impact and efficiency. In this he succeeds remarkably well, with interesting and significant points appearing on practically every page as the scientific framework of genetics and heredity unfolds logically (technical content was vetted for accuracy by David C. Bates).
Helpful coverage is given to historical context, including the personalities and scientific discoveries underlying molecular biology. A series of ten special "perspective pages," distributed throughout the book, covers relevant background topics such as personalities related to DNA, the structure of chromosomes, the mechanics of inheritance, the politics of genetics, and common misunderstandings about mutants. An illustrated glossary helps with many of the technical terms which inevitably arise in texts reaching explanatory levels beyond the trivial.
The artwork by Zander and Kevin Cannon (who are, incidentally, not related) is central to the ease with which the book clarifies difficult biological concepts. The clever graphical metaphors shamelessly anthropomorphize things like genes and proteins, but in such a broad and amusing way that no reader will be misled. Examples of outstanding graphical creativity abound, and one of the best is a portrait of the DNA molecule on page 26. I have seen many illustrative DNA schematics before, but this full-page portrait in extremely strong perspective, with well-chosen comments tucked in along the sides, is a virtuoso performance in vivid scientific communication. The base pair rungs and sugar-phosphate side chains stand out clearly without compromising the unavoidably complex spatial relationships enforced by the twisting dual helices.
Overall, I found reading "The Stuff of Life" a delightful and enlightening experience.
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Five Stars
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