Even at twenty-one I was the steadier of the two of us, the more practical, the one who remembers that food and clothing and a roof over one’s head couldn’t be won at poker or dicing.” P. 9

Now, in his sixth book – The Breaker – Peter Ash finds himself trying to lie low in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is living with his girlfriend June while spending his time renovating old buildings in the city with his best ex-gangster friend, Lewis. As it turned out the CRISPR story includes some tales of lawsuits caused by the final dash—and subterfuge—for patent rights. Scrambling to get findings published first in a science journal made these scientists look like conceded narcissists. Then when things advanced to the awards stage I was sorry to see some old friendships and partnerships chill as a result of jealousy. Apparently, when a virus infects a bacteria, it inserts a little RNA =>DNA sequence into the host cell. Well, what can I say about this book? I am feeling intensely emotioanl about this one and obviously, I would give it A Thousand Stars! Apart from Atul Gawande's "Being Mortal", this is another best-read for me in 2021! Such a brilliant, marvellous piece on CRISPR, its application in genome editing, diagnosing & curing diseases, and how it can be used to fight coronavirus. And most importantly, the star of this book is Jennifer Doudna - the Wonder Woman in science.The writing was quite good as well. It had a great balance of imagery and storytelling, most of the time just pitch perfect. There were spots where it got a little wordy, with material that possibly could have been edited down or just left out, but only a few spots like that. The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race (2021) is not your traditional biography. It’s also a history of the biotech field, the people driving it forward, a COVID-19 story, and a love letter to science and curiosity. The multifaceted focus of The Code Breaker may turn some people off to the book because it doesn’t conform to the standard model for a biography, e.g. an examination of one person’s life story and a litany of their achievements. That only makes me enjoy the book even more. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that a great deal of the attraction to this installment is due to two factors. One is the low-key but steadfast inquiry of the local police, whose cop instincts begin tingling whenever they are in even remote proximity to Peter. The other is the introduction of a monstrous, almost inhuman, hitman who becomes involved in the proceedings and gleefully places Peter, Lewis and June squarely in his sights. The mystery was a good one too. Emma was not afraid to keep digging and observed many things the local authorities either missed or ignored. She was not afraid to ask the hard questions even when those questions put her own life in danger. She also found an unexpected ally.

One of the things I always really enjoy about post-apoc novels, though, are the pop culture references, so I can't entirely hold that last one against the book. This novel had a lot of them. In prima jumatate a secolului XX fizica a fost revolutionata de teoriile lui Einstein si de mecanica cuantica. I enjoyed reading about the two entirely different and distinct reactions of Walt compared to Raymond and Mia, but couldn't completely throw myself behind either of their plans. Walt almost seemed like he was trying too hard to be Daryl Dixon and well, this book was missing him, too. :P After marriage and the birth of their son, Doudna and Cate were both offered a professorship at UC Berkley. Part of Doudna's genius was her ability as an effective leader. The emphasis she put on assembling a team in her lab that had chemistry (pardon the pun), so that ideas would collaborate and flow instead of egos or combative competition causing objectives to be stifled, was cherished by her underlings. Breakers is a book that begins like many in the genre do: a super virus wipes out a majority of humanity, leaving a spare few to rebuild. The twist comes when - spoilers - it turns out aliens have come to town on top of it all. The premise alone is an entertaining combo of The Stand and Independence Day.The writing was fluid and sometimes so perfect I had to highlight certain phrases in my Kindle app. I don't do that often, so that's saying something. I love how Robertson gives us independent characters without the dreaded author-injection, letting the reader decide what they are thinking or feeling. What follows is a series of textbook examples of good old-fashioned detective work, 21st-century-style, coupled with terrific pursuit and engagement vignettes that get better and better as one proceeds through the book. There are extended descriptions of everything. Instead of adding to the situation, you find yourself wondering when you're going to get to the end of it. The characters are passionate and tough. The pscychological changes they face are intriguing and sometimes quite disturbing. As a reader, I was constantly asking myself what I would do in their shoes and wondering how I would fare in this new and difficult world.

The world building in this book was great. The author give you just enough detail to paint the world in your mind with-ought overdoing it! The characterization of each individual was on point. I felt like I knew them all personally. I hope this is not a spoiler, however, I do not like to fall in love with a character just to have to say goodbye to them unexpectedly. Eva Kaminsky is a familiar narrator who matched up well with this genre and the tone of the writing. She voiced the large cast and the variety of cast members well.

Some old guys, like this Polish fellow I sometimes encounter in the park while walking my dog, are delightful human beings. And some are not. Peter does interrupt a crime, but it wasn’t at all what he’d expected. The young gunman appeared to have one target and one mission–but when he escapes, and his victim vanishes before police arrive, it seems there is more to the encounter than meets the eye. Peter’s hunch is proven correct when a powerful associate from his past appears with an interest in the crime, and an irresistible offer: if he and June solve this mystery, Peter’s record will be scrubbed clean. The edits are heritable i.e. the genetically modified organism will pass that ‘designer’ genetic code to their offspring. The second half of the book contains a lengthy discussion of morals and ethics, speculation on the future of gene editing, and an account on the scientific community's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, there's a short chapter on the social demise of James D. Watson of double helix fame. Early in this book Watson's book, The Double Helix is described as having been an inspiration to Doudna as a young girl to study science. But in Watson's later years he became an embarrassment to the scientific community. Truthfully, this book took me over a month to listen to, and though I enjoyed it, I had a hard time retaining much of the knowledge after the fact. Possibly the topic is just too dense for me, and possibly the author had a hard time paring down and organizing some of the facts of CRISPR.