enjoyed it- sometimes felt the author was injecting personal opinions-but it is a popular science book so I guess that is to be expected. Great springboard to lead to further reading ( )

A clear and concise account of the state of dna research of today ( )

I read a first edition, so there was a bunch of stuff that I knew to be out of date, and probably more that I didn't notice. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have an updated version.
The science itself is interesting. He's very fond of throwing in baseless conjecture and unfounded opinions, peppered with a bit of sexism and racism, for good measure.

One small example off the top of my head: he said that men are less likely to have themselves tested for Huntington's (a genetic disease which is not sex-linked) because they don't care as much about their families. ( )

A very interesting, intelligent read.

While I have read reviews deploring Matt Ridley for his deterministic views, I don't catch the criticism. The simple fact is, your genes do determine a particular set of futures, probabilities and potentials, it however does not determine the one future. For all the intelligence you're given by your genes, you can choose to not attend classes and be passed in knowledge by those with less genetic ability.

One criticism: Ridley does let his (conservative) politics invade the science on occasion. For example, his fear of the government somehow owning his genetic code (he doesn't say what they would actually do with it) is more insidious than an insurance company or employer who can (and actually has already done so) discriminate against people despite laws that prevent such practices. ( )

Some parts of this book were very enlightening, thought provoking, and awe inspiring. Other times when writing about something I knew about, the treatment was simplistic. The author also displays some prejudice on topics of nurture and psychotherapy. ( )