General Reading
Level indicators:
- 1 = suitable for general public
- 2 = suitable for high school students
- 3 = useful for faculty
- 4 = useful for advanced faculty
Andrews, Lori B., et al., eds. Assessing Genetic
Risks: Implications for Health and Social Policy. Washington, DC: National
Academy Press, 1994. This report by the Committee on Assessing Genetic Risks
addresses the many phases of genetic testing and its impact on patients,
providers, and laboratories. (1)
Bains, William. Genetic
Engineering for Almost Everybody. New York: NY: Viking Penguin,
1990. Provides accessible information about the development of genetics, molecular biology, and decoding DNA.
(1)
Balkwill, Fran. Amazing Schemes Within Your Genes.
Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1993.
----------. Cells Are Us. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring
Harbor Laboratory Press, 1990.
----------. Cell Wars. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory Press, 1990.
----------. DNA is Here to Stay. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1992.
Cartoon illustrations in all four books support explanations of scientific
concepts; suitable for reading aloud to students, as well as for students'
use. (1, 2)
Beardsley, Tim. "Vital Data." Scientific
American March 1996; 274:3. As the Human Genome
Project is producing volumes of information about our hidden susceptibilities
to disease, it is challenging us with many difficult and thorny societal
issues. An accessible article that covers everything from sequencing to
genotype to who should know to who benefits financially.
Bishop, Jerry E., and Michael Waldholz. Genome: The
Story of the Most Astonishing Scientific Adventure of Our TimeThe Attempt
to Map All the Genes in the Human Body. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster,
1990. Highlights major events leading up to our present state of genetic
exploration and biotechnology. Includes examples of personal challenge and
achievement as well as a good feeling for the personal and professional
challenges involved in scientific research. (1)
Cavalieri, Liebe F. The Double-edged Helix: Science
in the Real World. New York: NY: Columbia University Press, 1981. A
biochemist's critical view of the long-range consequences of recombinant
DNA technology, and, more generally, of what he sees as the growing subservience
of science to technology. (1)
Cook-Deegan, Robert. The Gene Wars: Science, Politics,
and the Human Genome. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1994. A firsthand look
at the politics and science behind the Human genome project. (1)
Davis, Bernard D., ed. The Genetic Revolution: Scientific
Prospects and Public Perceptions. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1991. This collection of essays examines molecular genetics, the
practical applications of biotechnology, its legal implications, benefits,
and harmful consequences. (1)
Duster, Troy. Backdoor to Eugenics. New York,
NY: Routledge, 1990. This book focuses on ethical and social issues. (1-4)
Edey, Maitland A. and Donald C. Johanson. Blueprints:
Solving the Mystery of Evolution. New York, NY: Viking Penguin, 1990.
An introduction to evolution and genetics for the general public. (1)
Gonick, Larry, and Mark Wheelis. The Cartoon Guide
to genetics. rev. ed. New York, NY: HarperCollins Perennial, 1991. Cartoons
for all ages. Some illustrations are helpful for class explanations of concepts.
(1-3)
Goodfield, June. Playing God. New York, NY: Random
House, 1977. A look at both the people and ethical issues involved in the
early days of genetic engineering. (1)
Grobstein, Clifford. A Double Image of the Double
Helix: The Recombinant-DNA Debate. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman, 1979.
Recounts the background and significance of the controversy over recombinant
DNA research. Illustrates the scientific and social issues generated and
how they were addressed early in the history of recombinant DNA. (1-4)
Hall, Stephen S. Invisible Frontiers; The Race to
Synthesize a Human Gene. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 1988. An inside
view for the average reader on the science, politics, and pitfalls of the
race to clone the gene for insulin. This well-researched account describes
molecular biology in action, scientific competition, the development of
NIH's recombinant DNA committee, and the birth of the first biotechology
company, Genentech, Inc. (1)
Herskowitz, Joel, and Ira Herskowitz. Double Talking
Helix Blues. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,
1993. This tape-book package, illustrated by Judy Cuddihy, provides a unique
way of learning about DNA and genes and how they work. Interesting and fun
for young people and adults who are curious about how they and their relatives
became the unique individuals they are. (1, 2)
Hubbard, Ruth, and Elijah Wald. Exploding the Gene
Myth: How Genetic Information is Produced and Manipulated by Scientists,
Physicians, Employers, Insurance Companies, Educators, and Law Enforcers.
Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1993. A compelling look at the possibilities,
prophecies, and propaganda of genetic research and the Human genome Project.
(1)
Judson, Horace F. The Eighth Day of Creation: The
Makers of the Revolution in Biology. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster,
1979. A science writer's comprehensive and accessible history of the research
leading to the elucidation of the structure of DNA, the deciphering of the
genetic code, and the structure and function
of proteins. (1-4)
Keller, Evelyn F. A Feeling for the Organism: The
Life and Work of Barbara McClintock. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and
Company, 1983. Highly readable and enjoyable biography of Nobel Prize winner
Barbara McClintock, whose work in genetics was not appreciated -- or even
understood -- for thirty years. (1-3)
Kevles, Daniel J., and Leroy Hood, eds. The Code
of Codes: Scientific and Social Issues in the Human Genome Project.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992. An anthology of essays on
the potential scientific and medical triumphs and social and ethical implications
of the Human genome Project. (2, 3)
Lappe, Marc. Broken Code: The Exploitation of DNA.
San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books, 1984. An exploration, by a public
health expert, of the social and ethical implications of recombinant DNA
research. (1-4)
Levine, Joseph, and David Suzuki. The Secret of Life:
Redesigning the Living World. Boston, MA: WGBH Educational Foundation,
1993. In this companion book to the PBS series of the same name, the authors
expound upon the most important areas of the growing field of molecular
biology. (1)
Los Alamos National Laboratory. "The Human genome
Project." Los Alamos Science, vol. 20, 1992. This is a nicely
illustrated overview of The Human genome Project from the perspective of
Los Alamos National Laboratory. It provides an excellent review of genetics
and molecular genetics as well as a very thorough overview of genome mapping.
The typography and illustrations make this accessible to high school students.
(1-3).
Marion, Robert. Was George Washington Really the
Father of Our Country?. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1994. In this entertaining
book, the author examines how the course of world history may have been
affected by the genetic background of world leaders such as George Washington,
King George III, Abraham Lincoln, and Napoleon. (1-4)
McCarty, Maclyn. The Transforming Principle: Discovering
that Genes are Made of DNA. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1985. An engaging
description of the crucial experiments that established DNA as the genetic
material. (1)
National Institutes of Health. Genetic Information
and Health Insurance: Report of the Task Force on Genetic Information and
Insurance. National Center for Human genome Research, National Institutes
of Health, May 10, 1993. This report assesses the potential impact of new
advances in human genetics on the current system of health care coverage,
and makes recommendations for managing that impact within a reformed health
care system. (1, 3)
Neubauer, Peter B. Nature's Thumbprint: The New Genetics
of Personality. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1990. A look at the nature-nurture-behavior-personality
controversy. (1-3)
Recombinant DNA: Readings from Scientific American. New York,
NY: W.H. Freeman, 1978. Thirteen articles from Scientific American
that describe major scientific discoveries basic to recombinant DNA. Includes
the 1975 article by Stanley Cohen describing how recombinant molecules were
first produced. Includes bibliography. (3, 4)
Robinson, Arthur, and Mary Linden. Clinical Genetics
Handbook, 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Scientific Publications,
1993. A useful reference on clinical genetics and genetic counseling. (3-4)
Shapiro, Robert. The Human Blueprint: The Race to
Unlock the Secrets of Our Genetic Code. New York, NY: Bantam Books,
1992. A "reader-friendly" account by a professor of chemistry
of the historical background, scope, and social meaning of the Human genome
Project. (1)
Strachan, T. The Human Genome. 1st ed. Oxford,
UK: BIOS Scientific Publishers, 1992. A brief description of the genome
project and the science surrounding it. (3)
Suzuki, David, and Peter Knudtson. Genethics: The
Clash Between the New Genetics and Human Values. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1989. (1-4)
Watson, James D. The Double Helix. New York,
NY: Penguin Books, 1969. A popular and highly personal account of the science
and personalities involved in the discovery of the structure of DNA. (1-3)
Watson, James D., and Francis H.C. Crick. "Molecular
Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure of Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid."
Nature, vol. 171, 1953. This is the article that set the foundation
for all of molecular genetics. Probably the single most important page in
the history of biology. (2-4)
Watson, James D., and John Tooze. The DNA Story:
A Documentary History of Gene Cloning. New York, NY W.H. Freeman, 1981.
A history of gene cloning told through
scientific papers, correspondence, newspaper articles, cartoons, and so
on. (1-3)
Watson, James D., et al. Recombinant DNA. 2nd
ed. New York, NY: Scientific American Books, 1992. Highly readable, accessible
book, covering everything from the very basics of molecular biology to the
latest, ground-breaking applications of recombinant DNA technology. An excellent
resource for the teacher with some molecular biology background as well
as the advanced student. (2-4)
Wills, Christopher. Exons, Introns and Talking Genes:
The Science Behind the Human Genome Project. New York, NY: Basic Books,
1991. A scientist's view of the human genome project. Includes stories about
the scientists involved in the project, the biomedical breakthroughs, and
the implications of decoding the genome. (2)
Wexler, Alice. Mapping Fate. New York, NY: Time
Books Random House, 1995. The author recounts the impact that Huntington
disease, a devastating genetic disorder, has had on her family, and links
the story with the social movements of the 1950s and 1960s. Includes a clear,
understandable explanation of classic and molecular genetics. (2)
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Resource Book Index: Promises and Perils
