The Eighth Day of Creation: The Makers of the Revolution in Biology(Commemorative Edition): Judson, Horace Freeland: 9780879694784: Amazon.com: Books

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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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Customers find the book stimulating and enjoyable. They appreciate its history of molecular biology and its profound impact on the biological sciences. The author is good at describing important biological concepts and putting modern biology into context. The writing quality is described as well-written and beautiful.

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9 customers mention "Readability"9 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it stimulating, informative, and valuable. Some say it's poorly written, but overall they appreciate its value.

"...Perfectly captures the spirit and the thought of that times. Full of edited interviews of the scientists...." Read more

"...The eighth day of creation, a beautiful title, is a great book for those interested in the background of research work." Read more

"This is a masterpiece, describing in a very interesting and readable fashion how the development and subsequent practice of molecular biology..." Read more

"...The book is also very valuable and I feel happy to have it now. Best Regards, Gunay Kurcan" Read more

8 customers mention "History"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book a good introduction to the history of molecular biology and its impact on biological sciences. It provides an overview of important concepts and historical figures. Readers appreciate the book's ability to put modern biology in context and provide insights into DNA. They describe it as a must-read for anyone interested in the field, capturing not only the science but also the messy details of how science is done.

"...Captures not just the science but the messy details of how science is done...." Read more

"...He's very good at describing important biological concepts -- readers with just a little biology under their belts will have no trouble following him." Read more

"Popular history of science book, very well written, shows the historic figures at the moment of their greatest discoveries in modern biology...." Read more

"...or science in general, this is the best, most comprehensive look at the origins molecular biology." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality of the book. They find it well-written and a beautiful history of molecular biology.

"Popular history of science book, very well written, shows the historic figures at the moment of their greatest discoveries in modern biology...." Read more

"This is a masterpiece, describing in a very interesting and readable fashion how the development and subsequent practice of molecular biology..." Read more

"A beautifully written history of the beginnings of molecular biology." Read more

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Kindle Customer
Still possibly the best piece of science journalism I've ever read
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2024
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Loved this when I read it in the 80's and if I hadn't already started my masters in Computer science I might have switched to molecular biology. Captures not just the science but the messy details of how science is done. Wish there was a modern update thar covers the period after this was published to now.

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J. Mendell
Putting modern biology into context
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2009
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Back in the 1990s, in my early 50s, I thought about shifting into genetic counseling, and took a series of undergraduate biology courses in preparation. A most exciting day was when, in the Cell and Molecular Biology lab, my lab partner and I isolated DNA. I felt as if I were walking on air! Later, writing up a lab report, I reread large chunks of The Eighth Day of Creation, to see that the various experiments we carried out in that lab replicated the pathway to understanding that had gone on in the 1950s and '60s.

I didn't make the move I was thinking about, but that course and the day we actually had a blob of DNA in our test tube, remains with me to this day. And this book put it all into context. Even today, it stands as a wonderful review of the process that resulted in a major "paradigm shift" (a la Kuhn) in biology. While The Double Helix is a fun, gossipy way to get into popular biology literature, The Eighth Day of Creation is where the real story is to be found.

Today, in the week of the bicentennial of Darwin's birth, I recommend this book as a great way to follow the thread from Darwin's deep insights of the mid-19th century to what we knew by the last 3rd of the 20th century. Obviously, the story continues from there, but the period covered by the book was seminal. And yes, some elementary biology is good background for reading it, but just as important is an interest in the social networks that underly an area of scientific endeavor. What Judson gives us is a picture of how the various scientists fed into each other's insights and experiment led into experiment. He's very good at describing important biological concepts -- readers with just a little biology under their belts will have no trouble following him.

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Dominika
interesting, but too long
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2018
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Popular history of science book, very well written, shows the historic figures at the moment of their greatest discoveries in modern biology. Perfectly captures the spirit and the thought of that times. Full of edited interviews of the scientists. My only complain: way too lenghty, could be more concise. Often times going too deep into detail makes it hard to follow which slows down the overall pace of reading.

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Chris Albert Wells
Imagination and science
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2010
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When I received the book, advised by a friend, I got a shock. So thick with such small writing, I thought I'd never get through it! What a mistake; the text engulfed me and although not always prepared to such exposure of scientific material, my interest rarely subsided. I was fascinated to see how imagination and common sense were instrumental to push research. How ideas that are so obvious today seemed as wild hypotheses. How people just missed them. And how "gentlemanly" research was in those days. People spoke to each other, compared results, even before printing an abstract. Today, to preserve priority claims, scientists rush to the editor! Fierce competition has taken over.
DNA is central to our epoch and it's difficult to imagine that reputed scientists thought that the molecule was stupid, that it had nothing to do with genetics and that a genetic code was a hopeless idea. And the worst was still to come once the structure of DNA had been discovered! The eighth day of creation, a beautiful title, is a great book for those interested in the background of research work.

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Frank B
A wonderful history of the development of molecular biology and its profound impact on the biological sciences
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2016
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This is a masterpiece, describing in a very interesting and readable fashion how the development and subsequent practice of molecular biology forever changed our knowledge of the structure and expression of genes. I was a student and later a lab head in that field during the period described in Judson's book, and nevertheless found the book very exciting and also informative.

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Alexander Boulgakov
_The_ story of 20th century molecular biology.
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2019
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If you're a student of biology or science in general, this is the best, most comprehensive look at the origins molecular biology.

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Ruth Leighton
Outstanding
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2013
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it arrived early and in fine condition. it gave me insight into DNA and was a good story on the scientists and their fields of discovery. It combines physics and chemistry and microbiology as the experts in these fields worked ;out how our inheritance really works.

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GUNAY KURCAN
I like prompt answers and supply from Amazon side
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2018
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I like prompt answers and supply from Amazon side , thank you for this. The book is also very valuable and I feel happy to have it now.
Best Regards,

Gunay Kurcan

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Wandering
An excellent oral history of a remarkable period in history
Reviewed in Canada on October 9, 2022
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If you are interested in the history of molecular biology, you will love this. I read this with Michel Morange’s The Black Box of Biology. The latter is more technical but The Eighth Day is more focused on the scientists as people.

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D K Bhattacharya
Quality and Delivery
Reviewed in India on September 21, 2023
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This book was delivered before the promised delivery period. It was also delivered in a good condition. Incidentally, this book is one of the very important book purchases for me. I thank Amazon

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Javier
Octavo día de la creación
Reviewed in Spain on July 9, 2019
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Todo perfecto

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I. Sumia
Great book
Reviewed in France on August 9, 2016
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Anybody with a career in science or simply an interest in the history of science must read this book. Loved it!

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Mrs P A Aske
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 9, 2015
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Thank you for a prompt service. The book arrived as described.

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The Eighth Day of Creation: The Makers of the Revolution in Biology(Commemorative Edition) Paperback – January 1, 1996

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Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Still possibly the best piece of science journalism I've ever read

Putting modern biology into context

interesting, but too long

Imagination and science

A wonderful history of the development of molecular biology and its profound impact on the biological sciences

_The_ story of 20th century molecular biology.

Outstanding

I like prompt answers and supply from Amazon side

Top reviews from other countries

An excellent oral history of a remarkable period in history

Quality and Delivery

Octavo día de la creación

Great book

Five Stars

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Follow the author

The Eighth Day of Creation: The Makers of the Revolution in Biology(Commemorative Edition) Paperback – January 1, 1996

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Top reviews from the United States

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Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent oral history of a remarkable period in history

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality and Delivery

5.0 out of 5 stars Octavo día de la creación

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

An excellent oral history of a remarkable period in history

Quality and Delivery

Octavo día de la creación

Great book

Five Stars