Clone: The Road To Dolly, And The Path Ahead

by Gina Kolata

The birth of Dolly -- the world's first clone -- placed in our hands the secret of creation. Few discoveries have so altered our notion of what it means to be human, or presented such a Gordian knot of ethical, spiritual, and scientific questions. Noted science journalist Gina Kolata broke the news nationally in The New York Times and was the first reporter to speak with Dr. Ian Wilmut, the embryologist who cloned Dolly. Now Kolata reveals the story behind Dolly, interweaving the social and cultural tales of our fear and fascination with cloning, reaching back nearly a century, with the riveting scientific accountof how a clone came to be and the mind-boggling questions Dolly presents for our future. Clone is a compelling blend of scientific suspense, dreams dashed, and frauds exposed, with provocative philosophical questions and an astute assessment of why Dolly's birth was only possible now. Like The Making of the Atomic Bomb, Lucy, and Chaos, this book gives us a window on history in the making, and an understanding of its profound effect on our lives.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Biology

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Kolata graduated from the University of Maryland and studied molecular biology at the graduate level at MIT for a year and a half. Then she returned to the University of Maryland and obtained a master’s degree in applied mathematics. Kolata has taught writing as a visiting professor at Princeton University and frequently gives lectures across the country. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with her family.

Reviews

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly interesting

[Timothy Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a fascinating look at the history of cloning and some of the debates around the ethics and implications of cloning. I don’t really read much fiction, but I found this book at a thrift store and decided to read it and am glad that I did. I think I’ll be reading much more nonfiction in the future, as this helped me in developing my opinions on cloning and genetic engineering of humans and animals. While it was written some time ago, it’s still quite relevant today and is fascinating when considering the advances we have made in cloning since this book released.

[Aurélien Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short but very good. Beyond Dolly, this book is ideal to learn about cloning from a purely scientific aspect (how, why and the whole history behind it). Sadly, although engaging the author doesn't go deep enough into the legal and moral sides of such a hot topic. Well written, clear but, I expected her to be more involved with ethical issues.

[jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good narrative description of events leading to Dolly, the cloned sheep. Not something that stuck in my mind particularly, but not a bad book either. I just don't like when the author's opinion is too strongly portrayed in the book. Good read, just not something I'd read over and over.

[Hallie Huffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was one of them that sparked my bio-geekiness. Did you know that the mother of Dolly-the sheep Dolly was cloned from was tossed aside as though she meant nothing? Treated as ordinary laboratory waste while Dolly was celebrated? Or that Dolly was NOT the first animal cloned?

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crap cash-in on timely controversy. None of the research that went into the book is interesting in the slightest. Worse, the author narrates as though talking to a class of bright fourth graders.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offered a lot of insight into science and it's past history regarding cloning. However, I felt the book was hard to follow and referenced too many other publications to truly enjoy.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clone: The road to Dolly and the path ahead by Gina Kolata.

An interesting history of cloning. From frogs to mice. From embryo cloning to adult cloning.
A well researched book.