DNA: A Graphic Guide to the Molecule that Shook the World
A new title for this revamping of the pioneering science �comic,� DNA for Beginners (1983), is appropriate because so much productive research has occurred since the first edition, as the revision�s peppering of post-1983 dates confirms. Yet the book�s core�illustrated technical explanations of DNA replication, gene expression, cloning and sequencing genes, cloning organisms, making tissue from stem cells, and other processes�is probably little altered and distinguishes the book from its most obvious look-alike, The Stuff of Life (2009), by Mark Schultz, Kevin Cannon, and Zander Cannon. While Stuff is a genuine graphic novel�with plot, characters, through-drawn text, and all�DNA was written first and then illustrated. Although he hardly eschews cartooning and caricature, including inspired parodies of great cartoonists (Daumier, Tenniel, Crumb, etc.), Van Loon functions far more as an ace creator of visual analogies of physical realities too small to be seen unaided or understood even when exponentially magnified. As for Rosenfield and Ziff�s text, it�s at the collegiate introductory level, whereas Schultz�s is superb for high-schoolers and the less technically literate rest of us. --Ray Olson--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.