Altered Fates: The Genetic Re-engineering of Human Life

I worked as a programmer for the Human Genome Mapping Library Project with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute several years ago, and have been waiting for thebook that could clearly explain to my friends and relatives what it was that I and the thousands of other folks sequencing human DNA were really up to.

Finally, Lyon and Gorner have written a book that deals with the most profound and compelling implications of this work: gene therapy, or the possibility of bypassing symptoms of diseases by dealing instead with their root genetic. Although this well-researched and comprehensive volume might be a bit much for the casual reader, it is a masterful and colorful work filled with facts, personalities, and politics that would appeal to anyone with a real interest in understanding the history -- and possible futures -- of gene therapy.