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And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and
Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code
Sam Keen
Hachette Audio
July 17, 2012 / ISBN B008M211HY
Nonfiction /Science / Audiobook - Unabridged
Amazon
Reviewed
by Jo Rogers
"The
Violinist's Thumb" is a treatise on genetics, what genes
are and how they make us what we are. Or do they? We really don't
know enough to tell whether they truly set our life course in stone
or just influence what we do. We don't know a lot, even though the
subject has been studied for a couple of centuries or more.
There are stories that go with each topic that clarifies the particular
aspect of genetics Sam Keen is discussing at the time. For instance,
when he was talking about the effects of radiation on human genes,
he told the story of a Japanese engineer who lived in Hiroshima
during World War II. It was a temporary home, for he had been working
on a project for that office of the Mitsubishi Company. With the
project complete, he would return home to Nagasaki the next day.
He'd started to work when he heard the sound of a bomber. He looked
up as the bomb fell. When he saw a blinding white light and heard
the roar of wind, he knew it wasn't an ordinary bomb.
I learned a lot about genetics from this book, things that explained
some of my ailments and how they had been triggered. I learned that
the likelihood of passing it on is high, but the odds of it being
triggered may be slim.
"The Violinist's Thumb" contains a lot of unproven
information that doesn't make sense in light of what they do know.
Read by Henry Levva, it is engrossing science. As for the Japanese
engineer, listen to the book to find out what happened.
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