Warning! If you have any tendency towards hypochondria, this is not a book you should open. Moalem starts out by describing how modest body manifestations such as eye spacing and skin texture can signal life threatening genetic conditions. He in fact, encourages the reader to find a mirror and do a self examination.
Although he is an informative and entertaining writer, the net result of his book will be to increase his patient load with readers who think they ‘might’ carry a dangerous gene. That’s dweeby in my book.
He does caution that there may be a danger of increased cancer risk in children treated with growth hormones for what he terms are cosmetic reasons. That is good sense. He also stresses how our environment influences how our genes express. ( )

Biology is not destiny

Inheritance: How Genes Change Our Lives and Our Lives Change Our Genes by Sharon Moalem, M.D., Ph.D. (Grand Central Publishing, $28).

Let’s all give a big shout of gratitude that Dr. Moalem has written this easy-to-follow primer in genetics, because he does a fantastic job of myth-busting, rumor-debunking and fear-comforting.

In short, his premise is that biology is not destiny. Our genetic makeup both influences and is influenced by our lives; we have as much power over our genes as our genes have over us—with a few notable exceptions. And he also makes clear that, for all that humans are similar as members of the same species, we are also, each and every one of us, first and foremost individuals.

Get that? There is no “average” human, which is why a medicine, exercise regimen or diet that really helps your friend may not work—or have really strange/dangerous consequences—for you.

Even better than Moalem’s clear writing is his frequent use of stories to illustrate his points, which puts this book solidly in the camp of general reader-friendly. He covers all the basics, which makes this a necessary volume to offset the outlandish and separate the science from the science fiction. ( )

An interesting look at medical genetics, written with the general public in mind. Many books on the subject are over the head of the average lay reader, but Moalem, a researcher and practicing doctor in the field of genetics, breaks it down so that most readers will understand. He doesn't cover a great deal of material, focusing on only one or two examples per chapter. He usually does not provide the SNP responsible for inherited conditions in his writing, although a person wanting to know more can likely find articles in library databases that will provide the information if they are willing to wade through scientific details. As a genealogist, I loved his recommendation at the end of chapter 6. He says, "One of the best gifts you can provide them [your siblings, children, and grandchildren] with is a thorough genealogical history, starting with what you know about the health of your own parents and moving on up and across the family tree as far as you can." He also cautions persons considering genetic testing to consider its implications for health and life insurance coverage. There is some great information in the book, but it does bog down a bit in places and probably focuses a bit too much on his own work in places although that it is what is most familiar to him. ( )