Review by Choice Review
Mehlman (law and biomedical ethics, Case Western Univ.) has written a reader-friendly book that outlines the future directions that human genetic manipulation could take. Reading almost as if it were science fiction, this book points out some of the consequences that derive from knowledge of the human genome. The completion of the Human Genome Project marked a revolution in the history of science. Genetic technologists have been using this emerging data to develop the fields of forensic genetics, gene therapy, DNA testing for specific characteristics, and behavioral genetics, which seeks in part to identify sociably undesirable genes. The genomic revolution has resulted in a drive toward genetic intervention to effect genetic "enhancement." People desire to use the DNA script to become more handsome, more muscular, more intelligent, and to acquire other desirable traits. Thus the question of what will be considered normal arises, as does the question of whether the normal will then become less than average. In this riveting read, Mehlman reviews the potentials of genetic manipulation and the positive and negative aspects of this new science. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. General readers; undergraduates, including two-year college students; professionals and practitioners. R. A. Hoots Woodland Community College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
