Genome offers extraordinary insight into the ramifications of the incredible breakthrough of mapping the twenty-three pairs of chromosomes that make up the human genome. This achievement raises questions that will profoundly impact the way we think about disease, longevity, and free will.

By picking one newly discovered gene from each pair of chromosomes and telling its story, Matt Ridley recounts the history of our species and its ancestors from the dawn of life to the brink of future medicine. From Huntington's disease to cancer, from the applications of gene therapy to the horrors of eugenics, Ridley probes the scientific, philosophical, and moral issues arising as a result of the mapping of the genome.

This book will help you understand what this scientific milestone means for you, for your children, and for humankind.