What Is Life?: Five Great Ideas in Biology
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- Author：Paul Nurse
- ISBN：9780393541151
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Summary
The Nobel Prize–winning scientist’s elegant explanation of the fundamental ideas in biology and their uses today。
The renowned biologist Paul Nurse has spent his career revealing how living cells work。 In What Is Life？， he takes up the challenge of describing what it means to be alive in a way that every reader can understand。
It is a shared journey of discovery; step-by-step Nurse illuminates five great ideas that underpin biologythe Cell， the Gene， Evolution by Natural Selection， Life as Chemistry， and Life as Information。 He introduces the scientists who made the most important advances， and， using his personal experiences in and out of the lab， he shares with us the challenges， the lucky breaks， and the thrilling eureka moments of discovery。
Nurse writes with delight at life’s richness and with a sense of the urgent role of biology in our time。 To survive the challenges that face us all todayclimate change， pandemic， loss of biodiversity and food securityit is vital that we all understand what life is。
Editor Reviews
11/23/2020
Nobel Prize–winning geneticist Nurse takes a look at what makes up life in this eloquent introduction to biology。 Nurse begins at the level of the cell， then works through genetics and natural selection， building toward descriptions of “life as chemistry” and “life as information。” Along the way， he describes cell theory （the idea that “everything that is alive on the planet is either a cell or made up from a collection of cells”）， Gregor Mendel’s 19th-century experiments in plant breeding that led to the modern understanding of genetics， and how gene regulation allows for different life stages （a “formless embryo” growing into a “fully formed human being，” for example）。 Nurse’s love for the scientific method is evident throughout， as in his writing on Mendel’s research （no “plant breeders before him had taken such a rigorous， extensive quantitative approach”） and his enthusiastic explanations of his own laboratory work （“I cannot stress enough how satisfying it was to work all this out，” he writes）。 Though the penultimate chapter， “Changing the World，” feels out of place， as it switches from eloquent explanations to a more confrontational tone， Nurse has a knack for presenting biological ideas in precise， accessible language。 Anyone wondering how life works would do well to pick this up。 （Feb。）
Reviews
PatrickPilz
，
Biology in a nutshell。 Paul Nurse does a fantastic job in distilling down current science in the field of biology using laymen terms while trying to answer one of the most fundamental questions of life on Earth。 His conclusions are more are closer to "what life does'， yet he delivers on the promise of the book better than anyone before him using the same book title。 You can look at this book as a short summary on what you still should remember from biology class at school。 If you feel that THAT is not much， you may want to get this book as a solid refresher。 It is important in current times。
Patrick Pilz
，
Biology in a nutshell。Paul Nurse does a fantastic job in distilling down current science in the field of biology using laymen terms while trying to answer one of the most fundamental questions of life on Earth。 His conclusions are more are closer to "what life does'， yet he delivers on the promise of the book better than anyone before him using the same book title。 You can look at this book as a short summary on what you still should remember from biology class at school。 If you feel that THAT i Biology in a nutshell。Paul Nurse does a fantastic job in distilling down current science in the field of biology using laymen terms while trying to answer one of the most fundamental questions of life on Earth。 His conclusions are more are closer to "what life does'， yet he delivers on the promise of the book better than anyone before him using the same book title。 You can look at this book as a short summary on what you still should remember from biology class at school。 If you feel that THAT is not much， you may want to get this book as a solid refresher。 It is important in current times。 。。。more
Arvind Padhye
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Nice overview of the amazing complexity of lifeRecommended first read for all who want to go deeper in the search of answers of how life arose and how every organism is interconnected。
Aaron Akbar
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Up to date on the latest science and highly acessible through 5 easy to understand lenses。 It's a quick path for the everyday person to become an armchair expert in biology in a mere 160 pages。 Easy and engaging。 Up to date on the latest science and highly acessible through 5 easy to understand lenses。 It's a quick path for the everyday person to become an armchair expert in biology in a mere 160 pages。 Easy and engaging。 。。。more
Cheryl （The Crafty Librarian）
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As a “former” zoologist and genetics researcher， I found this book refreshing， informative， and exciting to read。 It has been 20 years since I worked in the field， just before the Human Genome Project really took off。 Dr。 Nurse’s investigation and thoughts on what life is was thought provoking。 I do feel that this title is best for the scientifically inclined reader who is deeply fascinated with the subject and at the least has some higher level science knowledge。 Though I think any reader would As a “former” zoologist and genetics researcher， I found this book refreshing， informative， and exciting to read。 It has been 20 years since I worked in the field， just before the Human Genome Project really took off。 Dr。 Nurse’s investigation and thoughts on what life is was thought provoking。 I do feel that this title is best for the scientifically inclined reader who is deeply fascinated with the subject and at the least has some higher level science knowledge。 Though I think any reader would benefit from the knowledge within。 。。。more
Gibson
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Great science writers are masters of their field and can express themselves clearly and directly。Paul Nurse’s book is expository for 5 chapters before arguing optimistically in the last two chapters in favour of， for example， great health care and scientifically sound environmental practice。There is awe and grandeur in this writing。 It aspires to ethical， evidence-based decision making that is appealing and refreshing。 A complete antidote to the politics of the country in which I was born and in Great science writers are masters of their field and can express themselves clearly and directly。Paul Nurse’s book is expository for 5 chapters before arguing optimistically in the last two chapters in favour of， for example， great health care and scientifically sound environmental practice。There is awe and grandeur in this writing。 It aspires to ethical， evidence-based decision making that is appealing and refreshing。 A complete antidote to the politics of the country in which I was born and in which I live。Thank you， Paul。 。。。more
M
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This book's main asset is that it is easy-to-read and accessible， hopefully allowing more people to read it and be inspired by it。 One thing I think Nurse does well， that is perhaps more rare， is discuss how he became a scientist and provide an insight into the life of a scientist although it is brief。 Nurse also adds a voice by telling relevant， meaningful， short anecdotes。 However， the title is rather misleading。 The book concentrates on Nurse's specialism: genetics。 Whilst this is a very inte This book's main asset is that it is easy-to-read and accessible， hopefully allowing more people to read it and be inspired by it。 One thing I think Nurse does well， that is perhaps more rare， is discuss how he became a scientist and provide an insight into the life of a scientist although it is brief。 Nurse also adds a voice by telling relevant， meaningful， short anecdotes。 However， the title is rather misleading。 The book concentrates on Nurse's specialism: genetics。 Whilst this is a very interesting and crucial part of biology， I was hoping for a broader overview。 As a result， towards the end I found the book covered the same topics， adding slightly more information each time。 The last important note about this book isn't necessarily positive or negative but something for the reader to be aware of， especially towards the end of the book Nurse is very opinionated even though he somewhat addresses it and provides some counter arguments。 。。。more
Maciej
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Laureat nagrody Nobla， Paul Nurse napisał nareszcie swoją pierwsą książkę i zaczął， że się tak wyrażę， z grubej rury。 “Czym jest życie？” to próba odpowiedzenia na najtrudniejsze pytanie biologów。 Zagadnienie， którego ewolucjoniści， mikrobiolodzy czy genetycy wolą nie dotykać bo każda próba odpowiedzi nieco bardziej rozbudowanej niż definicja słownikowa zwykle kończyła się fiaskiem， nie tym razem。Nie zawiodłem się ale też nie dowiedziałem się czegoś zaskakującego。 To wciągająca historia w świat ż Laureat nagrody Nobla， Paul Nurse napisał nareszcie swoją pierwsą książkę i zaczął， że się tak wyrażę， z grubej rury。 “Czym jest życie？” to próba odpowiedzenia na najtrudniejsze pytanie biologów。 Zagadnienie， którego ewolucjoniści， mikrobiolodzy czy genetycy wolą nie dotykać bo każda próba odpowiedzi nieco bardziej rozbudowanej niż definicja słownikowa zwykle kończyła się fiaskiem， nie tym razem。Nie zawiodłem się ale też nie dowiedziałem się czegoś zaskakującego。 To wciągająca historia w świat życia i biologii。 Niski próg wejścia pozwala poznać wiele ważnych informacji bez uprzedniego przygotowania merytorycznego dlatego polecam tą książkę wszystkim głodnym wiedzy。niski próg wejściawciągająca historia i prosto przedstawione definicjetrochę za trywialnie i krótkona skali goodreads 4，4/5， w mojej skali 88/100 。。。more
Bojan Tamburic
，
Paul Nurse has delivered a wonderfully written booklet that combines our current understanding of Life on Earth （and beyond）， the great biological advances of the 20th centuries together with the scientific figures that made them possible， alongside his own research achievement and observations。 I think this should be a must read for anyone who is curious about the world around them， regardless of their background knowledge and scientific training。
Amelia
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Form: physicalWhat a fantastic nonfiction！ This is the perfect book for anyone with any interest in biology， regardless of your understanding level。 I have a degree in science and I found this such a good wee reminder of some very core concepts - as well as some new information I didn’t know！ - but I could also see someone with no to little knowledge reading and understanding all the info in here！ The language is the perfect level of simplicity without losing important terms and its small size m Form: physicalWhat a fantastic nonfiction！ This is the perfect book for anyone with any interest in biology， regardless of your understanding level。 I have a degree in science and I found this such a good wee reminder of some very core concepts - as well as some new information I didn’t know！ - but I could also see someone with no to little knowledge reading and understanding all the info in here！ The language is the perfect level of simplicity without losing important terms and its small size makes it a very approachable read too。 This book has once again sparked my love of biology and has really pushed me to want to further my reading in the science non-fiction genre this year！ Sapiens will be next up on my non-fiction list for sure but I’d also love some other science non-fiction recommendations if you have any！5/5⭐️ 。。。more
Marco
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Interessante ma troppo tecnico， ci vorrebbero più esempi pratici
Doa'a Ali
，
كتاب مبسّط ويعطي الصورة العامة الحالية لحال علم الأحياء اليوم。。 أعجبني ترتيب الفصول
Sarah Ensor
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This is an accessible， fun explanation of how biology works。 It is about understanding organisms by evolutionary theory without recourse to ideas of a Creator。 But it doesn't feel like a Dawkinsesque attack on people who hold religious ideas but an argument for taking science seriously。 This is necessary in the age of Trump and assorted demagogues who rubbish experts and science by association。 So Paul Nurse is appalled that science-based Covid19 advice has been ignored and defends the NHS。 The This is an accessible， fun explanation of how biology works。 It is about understanding organisms by evolutionary theory without recourse to ideas of a Creator。 But it doesn't feel like a Dawkinsesque attack on people who hold religious ideas but an argument for taking science seriously。 This is necessary in the age of Trump and assorted demagogues who rubbish experts and science by association。 So Paul Nurse is appalled that science-based Covid19 advice has been ignored and defends the NHS。 The bit that disappoints me is in the last chapter 'changing the world' where he defends GM crops with the example of Golden rice。 Golden rice is genetically modified to include vitamin A， the lack of which can kill。 Nurse criticises anti-GM campaigners for preventing the experiments that could help these people。 But he must know that children could get all the vitamin A they need if they were able to eat， say a carrot a day or a mango or papaya。 Nurse doesn't ask why these children are so poor they may go blind for lack of a daily fresh fruit or vegetable。Golden rice won't fix the problem of over a billion people being too poor to access sufficient nutritious food every day when the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has made it very clear there is enough food already to feed everyone well。 GM crops are only a few lines in this book but they illustrate a serious issue。 Scientists need to engage with science in society and question the system they work in or risk perpetuating problems endemic to capitalism。 。。。more
Alex Laycock
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chapter one brilliant。。 the rest of the book MASSIVELY confused me，so in awe of people that understand genetics and all the things he attempted to explain to the dim ！
Gabrysia Górniak
，
Jest to naprawdę dobra książka， która może zaciekawić ludzi， którzy są zainteresowani tym， co dzieje się w każdej komórce i z czego składa się ten świat。 Ja niestety jestem typem osoby， która nie ważne jak bardzo by próbowała， nie jest w stanie spamiętać tego wszystkiego， a najprostsza biologia to dla mnie czarna magia。 Dlatego właśnie oceniłam 7/10， czyli 4/5。 Jeszcze raz powtarzam- to nie jest zła książka。 Ja po prostu zaliczam się do grupy biologicznych głuptaków， których mózg wyłącza się w m Jest to naprawdę dobra książka， która może zaciekawić ludzi， którzy są zainteresowani tym， co dzieje się w każdej komórce i z czego składa się ten świat。 Ja niestety jestem typem osoby， która nie ważne jak bardzo by próbowała， nie jest w stanie spamiętać tego wszystkiego， a najprostsza biologia to dla mnie czarna magia。 Dlatego właśnie oceniłam 7/10， czyli 4/5。 Jeszcze raz powtarzam- to nie jest zła książka。 Ja po prostu zaliczam się do grupy biologicznych głuptaków， których mózg wyłącza się w momencie jakiejkolwiek próby zrozumienia świata， który możemy zobaczyć （albo nawet nie） tylko pod mikroskopem。 😅😊 。。。more
Francesco Dilluvio
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A masterpiece！
Marti Leimbach
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Beautiful， simple little book that tackles huge， complicated topics in an elegant accessible manner。 Kids should read it in school， gaining the basics of biology without the dry textbooks; adults should read it to remind themselves。 I certainly will be returning to it。
Wayne Yang
，
Amazing。 Finding myself rereading passages and lines。 Perfect for that end of PhD slump that has reminded me of why I chose to do science in the first place。
Sookie
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it was a pretty good listen during a monotonous day of testing。 though there are no five steps and the question is borrowed from the famous Schrodinger - Paul Nurse confesses to this early on， to his credit， its a little fun foray into this modern undertaking of taking a subject matter and giving a deep science twist to it。 the narration is spiffy， biology is kept simple （and pretty superficial） and the scientist tries （and succeeds） to cohesively put together a picture of life and a plausible a it was a pretty good listen during a monotonous day of testing。 though there are no five steps and the question is borrowed from the famous Schrodinger - Paul Nurse confesses to this early on， to his credit， its a little fun foray into this modern undertaking of taking a subject matter and giving a deep science twist to it。 the narration is spiffy， biology is kept simple （and pretty superficial） and the scientist tries （and succeeds） to cohesively put together a picture of life and a plausible answer for its origins。 its a good read。 。。。more
John Mannion
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This begins with necessary but familiar sections on cells， genes and evolution by natural selection but really takes off when it examines the topics of life as chemistry and life as information。 Along with the biological information there are insights into Nurse's life， career and working practices。 The style is clear and unfussy throughout and he is unfailingly generous in his references to other scientists。 The final two sections concern the impact of life and its inextricable interconnected t This begins with necessary but familiar sections on cells， genes and evolution by natural selection but really takes off when it examines the topics of life as chemistry and life as information。 Along with the biological information there are insights into Nurse's life， career and working practices。 The style is clear and unfussy throughout and he is unfailingly generous in his references to other scientists。 The final two sections concern the impact of life and its inextricable interconnected this。 They also provide a ringing endorsement of the scientific method in the face of recent populist challenges。 。。。more
Patra
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Amazing。 I have no other words。
Kim Symes
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Paul Nurse is a Nobel prize winning biologist， and director of the Francis Crick institute in London。 Rather surprisingly this is his first book， and from the valedictory tone he sometimes adopts in this text， I suspect it maybe his only book。It is a short volume （invitingly short） which describes biology in a nutshell。 The five great ideas are: The Cell， The Gene， Natural Selection， Life as Chemistry and Life as Information。 If you already have some biological knowledge you will find much of wh Paul Nurse is a Nobel prize winning biologist， and director of the Francis Crick institute in London。 Rather surprisingly this is his first book， and from the valedictory tone he sometimes adopts in this text， I suspect it maybe his only book。It is a short volume （invitingly short） which describes biology in a nutshell。 The five great ideas are: The Cell， The Gene， Natural Selection， Life as Chemistry and Life as Information。 If you already have some biological knowledge you will find much of what is covered here very familiar。 In fact most of it would be covered at GCSE level。 The book does not contain any illustrations or diagrams， which some may feel adds to its charm， but also makes processes such as meiosis harder to imagine。 For those who are already familiar with the material this isn't a great problem， but it isn't clear what readership the book is aimed at。 The writer assumes little or no previous knowledge of biology， yet I feel he could have assumed at least a little （since， in the UK at least， it is compulsory to study Biology and Chemistry up to the age of 16）。 The most interesting parts are where he digresses from his summary of the basics of biology to give us anecdotes about his own research on the chemistry of cell division in yeasts。 If he were to write another book， I would be interested in reading more about this side of things - about the day-to-day life of a Nobel prize winner。The best chapters for me were the last two， where he moves on to look at the place of humanity in the world， the role of science， and future scenarios。Overall quite interesting， but not a classic of popular science。 Possibly more enlightening for those with little prior knowledge of biology。 I was slightly disappointed as I have a very high regard for Professor Nurse， and would have liked to hear more about his views on the role of science in society and his projections for the future。 。。。more
Steve
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An excellent popular science book on biology that I highly recommend。 Written by Paul Nurse， a Nobel Prize winner， and well known science populariser in the UK media （not least during this 2020 CoVid pandemic）。I read it as someone who enjoys being abreast of the latest developments in the physical sciences and who’s had a career mainly involving mechanical engineering。 I’m knowledgable on the inanimate but I’m profoundly ignorant of the Life Sciences， initially a consequence of my schooling。 So An excellent popular science book on biology that I highly recommend。 Written by Paul Nurse， a Nobel Prize winner， and well known science populariser in the UK media （not least during this 2020 CoVid pandemic）。I read it as someone who enjoys being abreast of the latest developments in the physical sciences and who’s had a career mainly involving mechanical engineering。 I’m knowledgable on the inanimate but I’m profoundly ignorant of the Life Sciences， initially a consequence of my schooling。 So this popular book read was intended to help remedy that omission in my education。 And， on balance， it met my intent。A word on the book’s structure may help the new reader as I was initially not sure of the intended level of the book。 The first chapter entitled Cells， was brief and light on details， mostly happy to leave us with the knowledge that a cell is a ball of liquid chemistry encapsulated by a membrane。 Similarly the subsequent chapters on Genes （and DNA）， and then on Evolution， were brief and to the point。 I thought at that stage that I hadn’t learnt much that was new to me， and that maybe the book might be too elementary。 But the book really took flight for me in the subsequent chapters （eg Life as Chemistry and Life as Information） where these earlier basics are built on and combined as we are taken fully into the complexity of life’s detailed processes。 We get details on how life from its building blocks to the multi-celled structures function， even a concluding chapter on how life may have originated。 I found it a satisfying and easy， well written， read。 I realised that maybe I knew a little more biology than I thought I did but this book brought it all together for me， ‘under one roof’。 Not a reference book for those after an academic foundation to biology but a comprehensive overview for the popular science reader。 The epitome of a good popular science book - not too detailed， light on jargon， a sensible length at 200 pages， and the fascinating details and anecdotes you’d expect from the first hand experience of a practising scientist。 Enjoyable。 。。。more
mo。problemo
，
If I had read this when I was in school I might have turned out to be a molecular biologist， or at least a better bioprocess engineer！Honestly I feel this book should be a prerequisite to the sciences。 Very well written and even though I have a degree and masters in chemical engineering/ bioengineering， I benefitted immensely from this short book written almost like a novel。 Touching off philosophy， the inevitable direction in which the sciences are now heading， I think I finally came to terms w If I had read this when I was in school I might have turned out to be a molecular biologist， or at least a better bioprocess engineer！Honestly I feel this book should be a prerequisite to the sciences。 Very well written and even though I have a degree and masters in chemical engineering/ bioengineering， I benefitted immensely from this short book written almost like a novel。 Touching off philosophy， the inevitable direction in which the sciences are now heading， I think I finally came to terms with death while reading the book。 。。。more
Greta
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#Gifted from @scribepubSynopsis: The renowned biologist Paul Nurse has spent his career revealing how living cells work。 In What Is Life？， he takes up the challenge of describing what it means to be alive in a way that every reader can understand。It is a shared journey of discovery; step-by-step Nurse illuminates five great ideas that underpin biology。 He introduces the scientists who made the most important advances， and， using his personal experiences in and out of the lab， he shares with us t #Gifted from @scribepubSynopsis: The renowned biologist Paul Nurse has spent his career revealing how living cells work。 In What Is Life？， he takes up the challenge of describing what it means to be alive in a way that every reader can understand。It is a shared journey of discovery; step-by-step Nurse illuminates five great ideas that underpin biology。 He introduces the scientists who made the most important advances， and， using his personal experiences in and out of the lab， he shares with us the challenges， the lucky breaks， and the thrilling eureka moments of discovery。————————————————————————My Review:I was so excited when Scribe pub asked me if I would like to read this one as it sounds right up my alley。 Unfortunately I did not really end up enjoying it that much。 I think the main reason for this was that a lot of the information had been reduced down for a lay audience which is totally fine but as a Biology student at university， I just found the information to be too simple for me。 This meant that it wasn't super enjoyable as the book was more teaching how life operates and functions which felt very much like my first year lectures！I was hoping for a more philosophical exploration on "What is Life" in the last section of the book （as promised） but basically Nurse just said evolution disproved the existence of a God or life after this one。 This is a totally valid opinion and argument but I again， felt it wasn't explored in any depth or interesting manner。————————————————————————When to Read: If you are wanting to learn a bit more about biology / the cell！ Just because I didn't enjoy this one， doesn't mean you won't （which is obviously always true but I feel especially true in this case， as a lot of my reasons for disliking it are very specific to me！） 。。。more
Bernardo
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What is Life？ It’s a question that scientists and philosophers have wondered about for a long time。 And what is it that defines and differentiates life from non-life？ While philosophers may， to a certain degree， be able to give an answer， most likely it won’t be complete or fully satisfying。 Biologists are the people that should be asked about these questions。 They’re the ones trying to work out the physics and chemistry of living organisms。 To answer the question What is Life？ one must first un What is Life？ It’s a question that scientists and philosophers have wondered about for a long time。 And what is it that defines and differentiates life from non-life？ While philosophers may， to a certain degree， be able to give an answer， most likely it won’t be complete or fully satisfying。 Biologists are the people that should be asked about these questions。 They’re the ones trying to work out the physics and chemistry of living organisms。 To answer the question What is Life？ one must first understand life。Life is incredibly complex。 It has been evolving for about 3。5 billion years in our planet。 In the beginning there were only single cell organisms。 All the biodiversity we see today came from the same common ancestor。 Life’s branches are numerous and they stretch long。 As we go on about our daily lives， we might not think about this facts。 That’s why I believe books like this one are so important。 They remind us that there is a connectedness between humans and all other living organisms， in terms of the cell， genes， evolution， chemistry， information， and others。I was very surprised to learn that this is Paul Nurse’s first book。 He is as distinguished a biologist as you’ll find， having won the Nobel Prize in 2001 and having been the president of the Royal Society until a few years ago。 His writing is engaging and captivating。 Whenever necessary he uses technical terms， while also remaining clear and approachable throughout the book。 He also comes across as a very humble person， despite how much he has achieved。 Complemented by some fascinating stories about his life and work， this book actually feels quite personal， which is remarkable， considering that it’s a science book。This is a wonderful book that works remarkably well as an introduction to modern biology。 It’s also written by a highly distinguished biologist。 Paul Nurse not only guides us through the major steps of biology in order to answer the initial question， but also shares his opinions about life， viruses， society， religion and the future， among others。 I hope that he keeps on writing more books。 。。。more
Simon Dobson
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A quick and clear introduction to all the main currents in modern biology， especially cell and molecular biology， explained with a fantastic clarity。The five main chapters and the conclusion all address the core idea of approaching the question of "what is life？" from multiple perspectives。 But there's also an additional chapter on how science and scientists need to engage with the wider world， with decision-makers and popular culture， that deserves more prominence than as what is， essentially， A quick and clear introduction to all the main currents in modern biology， especially cell and molecular biology， explained with a fantastic clarity。The five main chapters and the conclusion all address the core idea of approaching the question of "what is life？" from multiple perspectives。 But there's also an additional chapter on how science and scientists need to engage with the wider world， with decision-makers and popular culture， that deserves more prominence than as what is， essentially， an essay sitting slightly uncomfortably with the thrust of the rest of the book。 。。。more
Marcos Malumbres
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Paul's book represents a very smart and almost poetical view of modern Biology， from philosophical concepts to implications in modern life。 The key concepts are very well fixed in Paul's thinking as it was obvious from his lecture in 2003 The Great Ideas of Biology: The Romanes Lecture for 2003。 It is actually quite difficult to compress all these ideas in five concepts and a few pages， and the text may seem too dense is some paragraphs and very obvious in others， although I guess this depends o Paul's book represents a very smart and almost poetical view of modern Biology， from philosophical concepts to implications in modern life。 The key concepts are very well fixed in Paul's thinking as it was obvious from his lecture in 2003 The Great Ideas of Biology: The Romanes Lecture for 2003。 It is actually quite difficult to compress all these ideas in five concepts and a few pages， and the text may seem too dense is some paragraphs and very obvious in others， although I guess this depends on the background of the reader。 In some sentences， I have the impression that the author spent too much time is some obvious descriptions but I may understand that editors want to make the text accesible to everyone even if results a bit boring。 In any case， even if the reader is close to the actual content of the text， the way the author describes some ideas is brilliant and speaks about the level of his thinking。 I liked the less-scientific sections beyond the 5 key concepts。 In one of them， the author discusses the implications in the way we have to see and treat our planet， Covid19， insects， etc。 This may seem too subjective for some readers with different opinion， but I always think that opinions are more than welcome when they come from a brilliant mind。 The last section is unique。 Whereas the 5 key concepts summarize current thinking and can be described using （not very） different classifications or approaches， the definition of what is life in the last chapter provides a cohesive way to put all the concepts together and to see Biology with sparkling eyes。 。。。more
Ian Lea
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Disappointing。 Too much detail on some things， too wide-ranging in other areas。
Amber Shott
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I now know a little more about life。
Remo Biagioni
，