The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Biology, Commemorative Edition

The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Biology, Commemorative Edition [Paperback]

Author: Horace Freeland Judson | Language: English | ISBN: 0879694785 | Format: PDF, EPUB

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The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Biology, Commemorative Edition
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In this classic book, the distinguished science writer Horace Freeland Judson tells the story of the birth and early development of molecular biology in the US, the UK, and France. The fascinating story of the golden period from the revelation of the double helix of DNA to the cracking of the genetic code and first glimpses of gene regulation is told largely in the words of the main players, all of whom Judson interviewed extensively. The result is a book widely regarded as the best history of recent biological science yet published.

This commemorative edition, honoring the memory of the author who died in 2011, contains essays by his daughter Olivia Judson, Matthew Meselson, and Mark Ptashne and an obituary by Jason Pontin. It contains all the content added to previous editions, including essays on some of the principal historical figures involved, such as Rosalind Franklin, and a sketch of the further development of molecular biology in the era of recombinant DNA.

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• Paperback: 720 pages
• Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition edition (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879694785
• ISBN-13: 978-0879694784
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Biology > Molecular Biology
  • #80 in Books > Medical Books > Administration & Medicine Economics > Medical History & Records

Judson's book, like Tracy Kidder's "The Soul of a New
Machine", stands out for getting it: the passion, the
politics, and the personalities behind scientific
and technological progress, as well as its pitfalls and
cul de sacs. Judson's book, like no other I've read,
captures molecular biology as it is practiced.
I received this book as a gift in 1980 when I was a
college freshman hoping to major in biochemistry.
Today, much as I like to see the biomedical research I
do as a rational, deductive, "hypothesis-driven"
affair, there is unescapably the human element. Think
ego, and all of the other human qualities, respectable
or scorned. Have you seen genome sequencer J. Craig
Venter on the cover of Time (or was it Newsweek?). What
do you think put him there?
Science as a human endeavor was put forth theoretically
in 1962 by historian Thomas Kuhn in his "The Structure
of Scientific Revolutions". Complementing Kuhn, Judson
illustrates it in deliciously readable human terms. For
this reason this book is unmatched and is worth six,
not five, stars.
Max Perutz appears significantly in Judson's story. In
1990, as a beginning graduate student, I had the
priviledge of meeting and conversing with Perutz. He
was just as Judson portrayed him: modest, plodding,
dedicated, pursuing what he might learn from the
structure and properties of hemoglobin. Reading Judson
a decade earlier prepared me for this most important
meeting for me.
Though dated (the story stops about 1975), I heartily
recommend this book to anyone considering a career in
biomedical research. Judson successfully conveys the
human reality of that honorable profession. Some times
it hurts -- crystallographer Rosalind Franklin never
got her due -- but that's the state of the profession.

By Paul Laub

I loved this book. Before reading it, I had the rather naive view that Crick and Watson discovered the structure of DNA and suddenly "all was light". I hadn't realised the huge effort required over the next twenty years to attain an understanding of the linkages between that structure and the biological processes it codes for. Judson's book tells that story, in detail, and is written at a level that I could follow (as a layperson with a keen interest in science).
Judson talked to the researchers responsible for all the major developments in molecular biology, and quotes extensively from his interviews, so the reader gets a feel for the human side of the great adventure, the sense of community and the rivalries, the frustrations and dead ends as well as the victories.
Be warned that it is not a light or short read. It demands the reader's close attention. Fortunately, though, it is a pageturner that (with only minor exceptions) keeps the reader gripped.
It should also be noted that the first edition of the book was written in the early seventies and, while no doubt Freedland has updated it, the main narrative ends in about 1972. There is a final chapter on developments since then, but it is of necessity quite brief and touches on a limited number of highlights.

By S A Mataga

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