The Cartoon Guide to Genetics (Updated Edition)

I am a biomedical science student who just happened to never take any sort of molecular biology or genetics as an undergraduate, so I basically managed to limp through my advanced courses in said subjects. I wish I had a little resource like this, since it was presented in a quick, easy-to-read, and humorous manner. The concepts were essentially all basics that I do understand, by now; however, it was still valuable to receive a general sense of how the concepts evolved. The Cartoon Guide to Genetics plays out like a storybook of history, outlining how we came to understand certain molecular biological concepts. All in all, it took me about two hours of nonstop reading, if that (I was engaged so much I didn't even notice the time), and I feel I received a bit of edification in the realm of genetics, especially so far as homologous recombination goes! If I had this book when I was taking my advanced course, I feel I could have properly engaged the material, since it builds a decent little foundation. I was a little disappointed not to have any mention about more complicated aspects of inheritance like non-Mendelian genetics. It's small kibble, though. I feel if you are an undergraduate taking your basic biology courses, then this book can only help you out. It was a fun little read that presented its material in a non-threatening way.

Good general purpose book for classroom library. This is a great set of books in cartoon form. Easy to understand. Good condition. Arrived quickly.

Pleased

This is the update edition of "The Cartoon Guide to Genetics" by Larry Gonick and Mark Wheelis. The original edition was published in 1983, and this First Collins edition was published in 2005. This is one of a series of Cartoon Guides which Larry Gonick has co-authored with scientists in the field of choice. Mark Wheelis is the senior lecturer in Microbiology at the University of California at Davis. The book opens with a pre-history of the field; discussing diverse subjects such as domestication of plants and animals, the biblical story of Jacob's Flock, spontaneous generation, selective breeding, and so on. They move on to give an excellent overview and history of the subject. Unlike the other Cartoon Guide's that I have read, this one lacks any chapters or sections. Perhaps they felt the subject was narrow enough that it was not necessary, but for readability it might have been better to have broken the book into chapters. This book serves well as an introduction, overview, review, and/or history of the subject. Of the guides that I have read, I would rank this book just a slight bit behind the Cartoon Guide to Physics, and better than the Computer and Statsitics guides.

This book literally changed my life. I was another electronics guy plugging away at chips in silicon valley. In a bookstore I picked this up and bought it for a laugh. A week later all the chit chat I had been hearing for a decade about DNA and proteins and genetics was making sense for the first time. DNA was digital! The whole mess of real-world biology is at its core logical and understandable. The complexity just comes from layers and layers of control, just like computers or phones. From there I started reading more layman's books, then taking classes and reading textbooks, and ultimately becomes a computational biologist. What is inspiring about the book is that it gets the history and concepts right without compromising on amusement and keeping the reader's interest. A decade later, I still enjoy dipping back into it. I wonder if this approach were taken to other subjects, would science be more approachable to kids in school?

By and large, I had really lousy science teachers in high school. In the case of both math and science, it is easy to become mired in the use of formulas, endless equations and memorization, and to lose sight of the big picture, and how facinating the subject matter can be. The cartoon guides in general cover a lot of material but keep things relatively simple, illustrate (literally) concepts with pictures and utilize a good deal of humor to hold your interest. This particular book has been quite enjoyable and funny at times. It is not always easy. It took me a while to feel I had a grasp of meiosis. But I think it is important that we keep our minds sharp, and it is always a pleasure to learn new things about how the world around us works. I don't know if I ever really understood what a pleasure learning could be until I finished college...

I just finished this book an hour ago and am ready to rave about it (and, more generally, its highly visual and accessible approach). More than any "popular" science book I've ever read, it quickly took me to an unprecedented comfort level with the material. Cellular biology is a three-dimensional domain where pure-text approaches fall short when trying to describe the spatial processes of cellular replication, DNA copying, etc. I think that this writing team has a talent for making information teachable, and that this book (along with the books of its kind in the series) is a great gift to the curious layperson. Thanks again to the authors - wow!

This is a good book, but there are times when it could be a bit clearer. Sometimes the cartoon style gets in the way. Sometimes there's a sizable jump in thinking from section to section. Still, all in all, it's a good read for an introduction to the subject. I did like the Mendel treatment very much. A good story that's very illustrative of how the basics work. However, my main point in writing this review is that it could use a little updating. I have the "Updated" edition, which was written in 1991. It's 2005 and the references are way out of date. Check with Amazon to find out if the edition they are selling has a more recent set of references. Despite the age of the book, the material is pretty much independent of recent changes. Amino acids, proteins, Mendel, DNA are still the same today. Some reviewer mentioned that human gene count is out of date. 200,000 in the book vs 20-30K from recent data. OK, but the ideas are still the same. Nevertheless, a newer edition would be welcome. I would have given the book 4 stars, but the age took away one of the stars. It's now 2011, and I've occasion to come back to this book. The reason being I came across the Khan Academy of educational videos on the web, and available on YouTube. There is a complete set on genetics. Although, I've only watched two of the set, I'd definitely suggest the set as a good starting point for those who want to learn more about genetics. I think Khan himself adds more to the story that's missing here. I have no college training in biology, but in the 2 or 3 intro books I'm aware of on genetics, there seems to be a difference in how one approaches the modern part of genetics. Things have certainly changed since Cartoon was published.

Excellent book.

I got this one as a replacement for my childhood copy of this book that sadly has gone mouldy. I remember being fascinated by this book as a child, and poring over each page. I learned about Mendelian inheritance from this book, but at the time I wasn't ready to understand some of the more complicated discussion of gene structure and gene repression. Still, this book helped fuel an interest that dominated much of my teens. I hope to show it to my baby when she's older.

lo compre para comprender mas sobre genetica por mi trabajo y me ayudo bastante a comprenderlo sin perderme, con este libro aprenderas sin dudas.

Easy reading

Il libro è realizzato molto bene. Le vignette sono molto simpatiche ed illuminanti. La lingua utilizzata è l’inglese.