The New York Times Book Review, John R.G. Turner
Kolata writes in the tradition of scientific journalism rather than as a philosopher or prescribing moralist. She objectively quotes varying opinions and raises more questions than she answers. She provides a very clear and fair account of how and why the research proceeded to the cloning of an adult animal.

The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Robert Lee Hotz
...lucidly separates science fact from fiction, reconstructs the history of scientific developments that led to Dolly's creation and offers a thoughtful overview of the potential pitfalls attending the discovery... With skill and dispatch, Kolata has written what, when the true import of this discovery becomes clear in years to come, may well be regarded as a crucial first chapter in the most important science story of the next century.... It is fast off the mark, accurate, diligent and comprehensive.

New Scientist
There is a lot to recommend this book. First, it provides a very useful account of the complex story of cloning animals from the nucleus of "adult" somatic cells from the philosophical, psychological, scientific and historical points of view. Secondly, woven through the fabric of this engaging story are mini-portraits of some of the key personalities (scientists, writers and philosophers) who have had significant roles either in the dramatic unfolding of the mystery of how single cells "mature" into full human beings or in the ongoing struggle to understand what gives humans their identity.
Customer Comments

Ramesh Gopal (rgopal@unforgettable.com) from Houston, TX, October 6, 1998
Interesting but too sensationalistic
Clone: The Road to Dolly... is an interesting book outlining the research that contributed to the creation of the first mammalian clone and its philosophical implications.

There is much in the book to recommend it. It places the work in its correct historical context by describing the chain of discoveries, beginning with those in the early part of this century, that eventually led to Dolly.

Although the book begins grimly, it seems to end on a fairly optimistic note, moving away from its opening notions that cloning is an evil, dirty business.

The bottom line is that whatever else it may do, cloning does not undermine human dignity. A person's dignity arises from his or her actions, not whether they were born as a twin, test-tube baby or clone. We would do well to remember that. To my mind, the most profound line in this book full of lines that compete for that honor is one attributed to a Scottish farmer who says, in some perplexity, 'I don't understand the big deal. A sheep is still a sheep.'

A reader from Houston, TX, September 21, 1998
Evenhanded, but little on real clones (identical twins)
The author of this book is mostly evenhanded; she clearly describes almost all the points of view about human cloning, no matter how profound or silly. However, she almost completely ignores the consensus viewpoint of most identical twins, triplets, and quads.

Identicals are a significant minority population, real human clones who view the entire cloning debate as silliness at best and bias against identicals at worst. Some societies used to kill identicals at birth, viewing them as evil!

No book about cloning is complete without serious consideration of living identicals. - Gary Noyes

boyce444@aol.com from CA, April 30, 1998
Prediction is tough, especially when it involves the future
This is a very fine book, even if you don't have a burning desire to make copies of yourself. As Gina K helps us understand, cloning is just a huge metaphor for the complexity and wonder of modern biology. To the media, its a way to sell papers and ads. To the scientists, its sometimes a way to get grant money, and sometimes the path to the most important medical advances imaginable. And, to the public, its an opportunity to get excited and hopeful about the future of man, or resentful and apoplectic about the schemes of these bad, mad, godless scientists. And to the moral arbiters of science (mostly illustrious residents of Cambridge, MA) its a chance play premature Cassandras to a poorly-informed and suggestible public.

This must have been a difficult book to write, because a very complicated stage must be set; Kolata starts by reviewing the history of cloning, beginning roughly in the 50s with frog cloning (Briggs and King), then passing thru whackiness-posing-as-journalism (Rorvik), fraud posing as science (Illmensee) before arriving at genius in the person of a Faust-like Danish veterinarian (Willadsen) and finally the methodical Scottish cloner himself (Wilmut).

Its obvious that Kolata's journalist/scientist heart belongs to Willadsen, who is the scientist we all wanted to be when we were grad students. Contemptuous of arbitrary authority and received wisdom, with golden hands and an inborn passion for the mysteries of cell, embryo and organism. Willadsen seems to be the genuine article - he makes me proud to be 1/8th Danish!

Read this book to see how science really happens. You'll thank me.

Click here to order this book

Bookstore - Psychiatry & Psychology

SNTP Genetics & Eugenics Main Page

Main Psychiatry Page

Pursuing Truth in all subjects...

©Gene Zimmer 1999 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED