Paul Nurse

Lovely short book by a senior scientist explaining the basics of life using everyday language. Even if you know a lot of this material he writes in such lovely uncomplicated prose that it’s a joy to read. Brief memories of his childhood and career give great perspectives on the material and add a lot of humanity.

As I so often seem to think, the last couple “summing up” chapters seemed a bit weaker than the rest. Ah well, that’s ok.

Nothing really new. Nice plea for science: GMO, climate warning, stem cells.

Book on biology from Nobel Prize winner, Paul Nurse.
The five ideas he uses to help understand life are 'The Cell','The Gene', 'Evolution by Natural Selection', 'Life as Chemistry', and 'Life as Information'.
It is a short, simply written book that explains what must be very complicated science in an understandable way. Quite amazing, and a clear message on the interconnectedness of all life, and our duty to care for our ecosystem.