The violinist's thumb

The violinist's thumb

2012 • 416 pages

Ratings11

Average rating3.9

15

I adored Sam Kean's [b:The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements 7247854 The Disappearing Spoon And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements Sam Kean https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1438018063s/7247854.jpg 8246153] – it was quirky, educational, fast-paced and filled with both big concepts and tiny little stories of chemistry. So even though genetics is my day job, I figured The Violinist's Thumb was worth a look. And I readily admit that after all, this is what I do all day, every day and the resultant luster loss may bias my opinion. But the Violinst's Thumb lacked the pizzazz of the Disappearing Spoon for me. It hit the genetic high points: The Human Genome Project, Cloning, etc. But what I wanted were the tiny stories; the things that add color and interest to the big stories. There were a couple (yes, I know about DNA and RNA, but not the tons of other *NAs that are not just possible, but exist.) But overall, I found the book a drag to get through. I wish I'd enjoyed it more, but it might be me, not the book.

May 14, 2017