The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
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- Create Date：2022-05-03 06:52:20
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Walter Isaacson
- ISBN：1982115866
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Summary
A Best Book of 2021 by Bloomberg BusinessWeek， Time， and The Washington Post
The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a “compelling” （The Washington Post） account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases， fend off viruses， and have healthier babies。
When Jennifer Doudna was in sixth grade， she came home one day to find that her dad had left a paperback titled The Double Helix on her bed。 She put it aside， thinking it was one of those detective tales she loved。 When she read it on a rainy Saturday， she discovered she was right， in a way。 As she sped through the pages， she became enthralled by the intense drama behind the competition to discover the code of life。 Even though her high school counselor told her girls didn’t become scientists， she decided she would。
Driven by a passion to understand how nature works and to turn discoveries into inventions， she would help to make what the book’s author， James Watson， told her was the most important biological advance since his codiscovery of the structure of DNA。 She and her collaborators turned a curiosity of nature into an invention that will transform the human race: an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA。 Known as CRISPR， it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions。
The development of CRISPR and the race to create vaccines for coronavirus will hasten our transition to the next great innovation revolution。 The past half-century has been a digital age， based on the microchip， computer， and internet。 Now we are entering a life-science revolution。 Children who study digital coding will be joined by those who study genetic code。
Should we use our new evolution-hacking powers to make us less susceptible to viruses？ What a wonderful boon that would be！ And what about preventing depression？ Hmmm…Should we allow parents， if they can afford it， to enhance the height or muscles or IQ of their kids？
After helping to discover CRISPR， Doudna became a leader in wrestling with these moral issues and， with her collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier， won the Nobel Prize in 2020。 Her story is an “enthralling detective story” （Oprah Daily） that involves the most profound wonders of nature， from the origins of life to the future of our species。
The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a “compelling” （The Washington Post） account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases， fend off viruses， and have healthier babies。
When Jennifer Doudna was in sixth grade， she came home one day to find that her dad had left a paperback titled The Double Helix on her bed。 She put it aside， thinking it was one of those detective tales she loved。 When she read it on a rainy Saturday， she discovered she was right， in a way。 As she sped through the pages， she became enthralled by the intense drama behind the competition to discover the code of life。 Even though her high school counselor told her girls didn’t become scientists， she decided she would。
Driven by a passion to understand how nature works and to turn discoveries into inventions， she would help to make what the book’s author， James Watson， told her was the most important biological advance since his codiscovery of the structure of DNA。 She and her collaborators turned a curiosity of nature into an invention that will transform the human race: an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA。 Known as CRISPR， it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions。
The development of CRISPR and the race to create vaccines for coronavirus will hasten our transition to the next great innovation revolution。 The past half-century has been a digital age， based on the microchip， computer， and internet。 Now we are entering a life-science revolution。 Children who study digital coding will be joined by those who study genetic code。
Should we use our new evolution-hacking powers to make us less susceptible to viruses？ What a wonderful boon that would be！ And what about preventing depression？ Hmmm…Should we allow parents， if they can afford it， to enhance the height or muscles or IQ of their kids？
After helping to discover CRISPR， Doudna became a leader in wrestling with these moral issues and， with her collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier， won the Nobel Prize in 2020。 Her story is an “enthralling detective story” （Oprah Daily） that involves the most profound wonders of nature， from the origins of life to the future of our species。
Reviews
Jana Bouc
，
I loved his other books but this one didn’t hold my interest。
Happylife Vo
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I have never been able to enjoyed the enlightenment of this book thanks to Bill Gates。 The book has totally changed my perspective towards living things and biochemistry。 I used to wonder whether human would be able to usher another revolution so that my generation could take part in as technology billionaires results from internet revolution。 This book can play an important impact on my career choices
Paulette
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Interesting concepts and informative but a bit too technical for me。
Sue
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Science I can Read AboutWow！ What an engaging book！ Isaacson knows how to throw the hook to gain and maintain the reader’s interest - whether scientifically inclined or not。 I am not。 I had no real idea what was involved with "code breaking" and gene editing， nor had I heard of CRISPR， or many of the topics discussed in this book。 However， having come through our Covid pandemic， I’ve been more curious as to how the science has worked。 It was fascinating to learn how decades of research has lead Science I can Read AboutWow！ What an engaging book！ Isaacson knows how to throw the hook to gain and maintain the reader’s interest - whether scientifically inclined or not。 I am not。 I had no real idea what was involved with "code breaking" and gene editing， nor had I heard of CRISPR， or many of the topics discussed in this book。 However， having come through our Covid pandemic， I’ve been more curious as to how the science has worked。 It was fascinating to learn how decades of research has lead up to the breakthrough scientific discoveries。 Woven with interest was the bio of key player， scientist， Nobel prize winner Jennifer Doudna。 But it’s more of a journey than a biography- the journey of a new era in science。 I enjoyed how he weaves the cast of scientific players that have been so intricately involved with this process。 Definitely a page turner！ I did have to take a break throughout to take time to digest all the info （especially since I’m not scientifically minded，） but I never wanted to shelve the book。 Great notes and extensive index。 Highly recommended。 A very timely read。 。。。more
Syed Rubab Redwan
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PR piece gone wrong
Brenda Kohler
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This is like a college text。 I need a yellow highlighter and legal pad to make notes。 I can't do that reading in bed。 This is like a college text。 I need a yellow highlighter and legal pad to make notes。 I can't do that reading in bed。 。。。more
Margo Allore
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An excellent， well-researched book of Dr。 Jennifer Doudna （winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize for Science with Dr。 Emmanuelle Charpentier）， who developed CHRISPR， an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA。 The book starts when Doudna was a young girl in Hawaii to obtaining the Nobel Prize。 The book outlines her's and the other scientists' and researchers' work。 The book was enhanced with many pictures。 Sometimes I was lost in the science， even though Isaacson wrote that part in a very easy way。 A thorou An excellent， well-researched book of Dr。 Jennifer Doudna （winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize for Science with Dr。 Emmanuelle Charpentier）， who developed CHRISPR， an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA。 The book starts when Doudna was a young girl in Hawaii to obtaining the Nobel Prize。 The book outlines her's and the other scientists' and researchers' work。 The book was enhanced with many pictures。 Sometimes I was lost in the science， even though Isaacson wrote that part in a very easy way。 A thoroughly enjoyable book to read。 。。。more
George Otte
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I've long been a fan of Walter Isaacson's biographies， and that sets expectations high， but it is also explains a tolerance for all the self-reference， which is really ratcheting up with this one。 Part of it is the attraction of these biographies in the first place。 They give lots of play to tensions， obstacles， tempers of time and circumstance。 For all his accessibility， and he's a master at making the complex accessible， it's the complexity he's really interested in putting on display。 With so I've long been a fan of Walter Isaacson's biographies， and that sets expectations high， but it is also explains a tolerance for all the self-reference， which is really ratcheting up with this one。 Part of it is the attraction of these biographies in the first place。 They give lots of play to tensions， obstacles， tempers of time and circumstance。 For all his accessibility， and he's a master at making the complex accessible， it's the complexity he's really interested in putting on display。 With someone as sui generis as Steve Jobs or Albert Einstein， focus on one towering complex individual is enough， But this story is not Jennifer Doudna's so much a whole crews of competing scientists。 It's less the character-is-destiny thing this time， much more of a wide-screen and a wide net。 A recurrent trope in this book is the "thought experiment。" That's basically what the focus of a biography is， but her that's more of a group biography， and Jennifer Doudna is the standout because she is both competitive and collaborative， both shrewd and decent。 She makes a good center of gravity， but Isaacson very nearly leaves her behind in this a story， which features a racist， banished James Watson， rogue amateurs like 。。。more
Nancy
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4。5/5。 First half was a drag， so much technical stuff。 Last half was fantastic， discussing all the moral and legal issues with gene editing。 Very worthwhile read！
Jonathan
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Starts decent， then loses the plot。 My first， and last， Isaacson book - truly unimpressed。 Abandons Doudna midway， includes too much throwaway editorial commentary， and 50+ "chapters" means you don't have a clear story arc。 Starts decent， then loses the plot。 My first， and last， Isaacson book - truly unimpressed。 Abandons Doudna midway， includes too much throwaway editorial commentary， and 50+ "chapters" means you don't have a clear story arc。 。。。more
Alyssa Tomlinson
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I was torn between a 4 and a 5 but decided on a 4 if only because some of Isaacson’s other books set such a high bar。 That said， I really loved this book and， as always， Isaacson does a fantastic job speaking in lay terms。 My only negatives （just because I’m being absurdly picky） are that sometimes I wish he took explanations a *litttttle* bit further， and I almost wish the timing of the book was such that he could’ve gone a little deeper into the Covid vaccines。 That said， it’s a wonderful read I was torn between a 4 and a 5 but decided on a 4 if only because some of Isaacson’s other books set such a high bar。 That said， I really loved this book and， as always， Isaacson does a fantastic job speaking in lay terms。 My only negatives （just because I’m being absurdly picky） are that sometimes I wish he took explanations a *litttttle* bit further， and I almost wish the timing of the book was such that he could’ve gone a little deeper into the Covid vaccines。 That said， it’s a wonderful read for both science and non-science minds， and one that really drives home how bioengineering has the potential to usher in the next tech revolution。 。。。more
Karol Sandoval
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This is the first book I have finished in years， I was forced to read it but I sometimes enjoyed reading it but most of the time I hated it。 The book felt repetitive in multiple occasions and had a lot of sciencey words so if you suck at science don’t read。P。S。 Eric Lander and James Watson suck。
Sandra
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Isaacson provides an insight to the world of competitive scientific research - which served us well during Covid， when scientists across the globe collaborated rather than competed。 But the bigger picture is a bit frightening。 And too much detail into the actual science of RNA and DNA for me。
Kelsey Barklund
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Gave a good background of the twists and turns that occurred on the way to developing such a scientific breakthrough。
Rafael
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Got to know about this book after reading other biographies written by Isaacson。 After reading books solely related to engineering， reading a biology book was very refreshing。Jennifer Doudna， Emmanuelle Charpentier， Feng Zhang and other collaborators has set a precedent of whats yet to come after we find applications and create new technologies based on CRISPR。 I'm both impatient to understand the things that we can achieve as human species。 Edit your own genes/DNA？？？ Wow！Let's hope for the best Got to know about this book after reading other biographies written by Isaacson。 After reading books solely related to engineering， reading a biology book was very refreshing。Jennifer Doudna， Emmanuelle Charpentier， Feng Zhang and other collaborators has set a precedent of whats yet to come after we find applications and create new technologies based on CRISPR。 I'm both impatient to understand the things that we can achieve as human species。 Edit your own genes/DNA？？？ Wow！Let's hope for the best， that we use this technology to elevate the human condition without making life harder for those that already have a difficult life。In terms of the moral and philosophical dilemmas of this I still need to continue thinking about how I feel about this。The book was very engaging。 Looking to read more about people that have changed or are changing the world for good。 。。。more
Leila
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Well written and connects closely to the current pandemic。 Isaacson addresses both the history and ethics that surround CRISPR gene editing。 Although I understand why he centers his narratives on the scientists involved in the feats of engineering that sprung this field forward， I found the inclusion of so many "main" characters （see Zhang， Church， Carpentier， many PhD students） a bit distracting。 Still a worthwhile read， and likely comprehensible even to those without a bio/natural science back Well written and connects closely to the current pandemic。 Isaacson addresses both the history and ethics that surround CRISPR gene editing。 Although I understand why he centers his narratives on the scientists involved in the feats of engineering that sprung this field forward， I found the inclusion of so many "main" characters （see Zhang， Church， Carpentier， many PhD students） a bit distracting。 Still a worthwhile read， and likely comprehensible even to those without a bio/natural science background！ 。。。more
KAARTHIKEYAN SUBRAMANIAN
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http://outofmycomfortzone87。blogspot。。。。TLDR: This is thoroughly informative book at the right era when Genetic engineering， CRISPR is at the forefront of COVID fight。 Also celebrating two extraordinary women nobel laureates and shows intricacies including political wrangling between top universities such as Broad vs Harvard vs Berkeley。 Fascinating read。 Rating 9/10 。 http://outofmycomfortzone87。blogspot。。。。TLDR: This is thoroughly informative book at the right era when Genetic engineering， CRISPR is at the forefront of COVID fight。 Also celebrating two extraordinary women nobel laureates and shows intricacies including political wrangling between top universities such as Broad vs Harvard vs Berkeley。 Fascinating read。 Rating 9/10 。 。。。more
Rev David Bush
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I really enjoyed this book。 Isaacson's narrative style unfolds a story as enthralling as any mystery。 I highly recommend。 I really enjoyed this book。 Isaacson's narrative style unfolds a story as enthralling as any mystery。 I highly recommend。 。。。more
Andrew Connell
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Absolutely fantastic history story & thought-provoking。 I knew little about gene editing， but have much more respect for the topic's complexity than what I thought prior。 I also wasn't aware of how a lot of the early work in researching it played into the approach of the first two COVID vaccines。 Absolutely fantastic history story & thought-provoking。 I knew little about gene editing， but have much more respect for the topic's complexity than what I thought prior。 I also wasn't aware of how a lot of the early work in researching it played into the approach of the first two COVID vaccines。 。。。more
Gwen Cooley
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Way over my head but absolutely fascinating。
Bill Roberts
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I little bit technical for the layman but the emphasis is on what CRISPER is， how scientists found it and what it’s current and future applications are。 Definitely worth reading to try and understand what is happening in the bio-sciences
Abeeth Shamsudeen
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Very engrossing and scientifically enticing book。 Great read that sheds light into the world of CRISPR and what the future of human race will look like。 Science simplified and presented in great detail， makes readers feel wiser after reading the book。 Highly recommended。
Nima Wangdi Reading toddler
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It is such a good book that makes you live the life of a scientist Dr。 Jennifer Doudna and her struggles and success。 If you are a biology teacher or a student， this book will take you to the heaven of biology。
Kat
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compelling readA great deep dive into the discovery of CRISPR and related technologies， legal battles and all。 Interesting stories of collaboration and how scientists build on innovations。
Cassidy
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I enjoyed the story and learning about CRSPR。 However， the authors conclusion "I see the promise of CRSPR more than the peril，" is so NOT what the author is trying to say in the rest of the book。 There are whole chapters dedicated to how there is no difference between editing out Huntingtons disease and choosing your child's eye color。 That was annoying and seems disingenuous， those the lost star from 4 to 3。 I enjoyed the story and learning about CRSPR。 However， the authors conclusion "I see the promise of CRSPR more than the peril，" is so NOT what the author is trying to say in the rest of the book。 There are whole chapters dedicated to how there is no difference between editing out Huntingtons disease and choosing your child's eye color。 That was annoying and seems disingenuous， those the lost star from 4 to 3。 。。。more
James Wang
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The Code Breaker is a very comprehensive novel that not only delves into the history of gene splicing and gene modification， but also discusses the ethical ramifications of gene editing， provoking great questions and providing arguments for both sides。tWhile Isaacson discusses the work of Doudna and Charpentier， the two leading women who developed CRISPR for gene editing， he also brings to light the response of the scientific community， and it was intriguing to hear about how different groups of The Code Breaker is a very comprehensive novel that not only delves into the history of gene splicing and gene modification， but also discusses the ethical ramifications of gene editing， provoking great questions and providing arguments for both sides。tWhile Isaacson discusses the work of Doudna and Charpentier， the two leading women who developed CRISPR for gene editing， he also brings to light the response of the scientific community， and it was intriguing to hear about how different groups of people responded to these scientific breakthroughs。 。。。more
Burak Aksoy
，
Biraz olması gerekenden uzun ， bazen çok detaylı mı sanki， zaman zaman çok teknik。 Bioteknolojide biz farkında olmadan son 20 yılda yaşanan devrimin hikayesi。 Kitaptan küçük bir alıntı da yapayım neden böyle dediğime dair。 "Bu belkide yaşanan son pandemi" Biraz olması gerekenden uzun ， bazen çok detaylı mı sanki， zaman zaman çok teknik。 Bioteknolojide biz farkında olmadan son 20 yılda yaşanan devrimin hikayesi。 Kitaptan küçük bir alıntı da yapayım neden böyle dediğime dair。 "Bu belkide yaşanan son pandemi" 。。。more
David Lum
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Thank you， book， for teaching me what CRISPR is— I have been wondering for months now but was always too lazy to read up on it。 But I didn’t truly enjoy this read。 To some extent it felt like it was taking sides too soon in a scientific food fight that’s hardly had time to finish。 Another reason I didn’t love the book is （sorry Isaacson） it was too hard to follow with too many names， too much jumping around， and too much recapitulation。 So thumbs up for teaching me about recent science but thumb Thank you， book， for teaching me what CRISPR is— I have been wondering for months now but was always too lazy to read up on it。 But I didn’t truly enjoy this read。 To some extent it felt like it was taking sides too soon in a scientific food fight that’s hardly had time to finish。 Another reason I didn’t love the book is （sorry Isaacson） it was too hard to follow with too many names， too much jumping around， and too much recapitulation。 So thumbs up for teaching me about recent science but thumbs down for pure reading enjoyment。 。。。more
George Emad
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This book; was an eye opener for me， I heard about Crispr and the gene editing before， but I never imagined that we had already become this advanced in this topic！ I can't imagine having customized children or human features marketplace！ What "a risk society" we are living in ！ Would you change your child's genes to make them prone to cancer， HIV or any other disease？ Would you like to improve their cognitive abilities， improve their memory， or make them better athletite？ How would that change t This book; was an eye opener for me， I heard about Crispr and the gene editing before， but I never imagined that we had already become this advanced in this topic！ I can't imagine having customized children or human features marketplace！ What "a risk society" we are living in ！ Would you change your child's genes to make them prone to cancer， HIV or any other disease？ Would you like to improve their cognitive abilities， improve their memory， or make them better athletite？ How would that change the work market or comply with our understanding of equality ？ Would all the people on earth have equal access to these technologies or can afford it ？！ A huge number of moral and ethical questions will pop up in your mind after reading this book。 It was the first book I read on this topic， so it had a lot to offer me。 It's not technical， but it covers many technical terms to make the story understandable by general readers。 I liked the storytelling and the way it's written。 。。。more
McKlayne Marshall
，