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The book jacket nicely explains what this book is about: Moira Gunn, who has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, has written a memoir about her experiences in starting and hosting the radio program BioTech Nation, which currently airs on many Public Radio stations. As an engineer, the author knows and is comfortable with Tech, i.e. technology, but, by her own admission, is uncomfortable with and knows little about Bio, i.e. biology, the world of small molecules and lean genes. This tension certainly adds to the appeal of the author’s odyssey. The intersection of modern biology and technology leads to what the author calls Big Ideas that companies with seemingly limitless amounts of money exploit to generate useful products to make us healthier and, of course, generate profits for themselves. Nation, I presume, refers to all scientists, engineers, technicians, and entrepreneurs who make up the biotechnology community. Many of these individuals have been guests on Gunn’s radio show and appear prominently in the book. They form the basis for the biotechnology portions of the book. Welcome to Biotech Nation is part memoir and part science/technology. It is designed for people with little or no background in science and technology, but with a desire to learn more about an important area that affects their lives. Wanting to learn more about Gunn—the journalist and celebrity—might be another motivation for reading the book. The author is informal, chatty, gossipy, irreverent, hip, and funny (the joke at the end of the book is not to be missed), which is delightful at times but a little tedious at others. I enjoy many of these qualities in contemporary fiction, in the novels of John Irving for example, but I am used to a more sober style of non-fiction writing. Gunn also loses focus at times: to use the author’s own words: “But I digress.” The author claims not to know what an enzyme, or anything biological, is. Hasn’t she had any biology in grade, middle, or high school? I suppose this is possible, even for one who was Phi Beta Kappa in college. Fortunately, one of the people she interviews explains the term for her and her audience. The author’s lack of knowledge turns out to be a virtue because Gunn and her radio and book guests have to explain the subject under discussion in clear, intelligent, and non-technical terms. It is up to the radio host and author to make certain that this happens, and she does. Although I think the author spends too much time on herself and how the radio show came to be, when she does discuss biotechnology, usually in connection with a guest on her radio show, it is done exceedingly well. A significant number of important topics in biotechnology, including their moral and ethical dimensions, are described with clarity and verve. Her guests and their stories are interesting. I particularly liked the chapters dealing with genetically modified foods, generic drugs in the Third World, the various genome projects and their significance, and the enzyme-catalyzed conversion of cellulose into ethanol for automotive fueling. Who will want to read this book? If you listen to Gunn’s radio show, you will probably buy the book because it is about Gunn and the origin of her show. If you have never heard of the author or her radio program, you might find her story entertaining; but even if you didn’t, you would find the science and technology rewarding, even though it is presented with no technical detail. Let me conclude with another quote from the author, admittedly out of context: “This is no beach read.” In my view this is very much a beach read. You likely will be entertained by the author’s and her guests’ stories and certainly enlightened about seminal issues in biotechnology.
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