Reviews for Medical Science And Social Problems: Inaugural Address Delivered At The Opening Of The Seven...

The average rating for Medical Science And Social Problems: Inaugural Address Delivered At The Opening Of The Seven... based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-06-29 00:00:00 Lynne Murphy What can I say about this book? It was a little bit like reading Holly Madison's book Down the Rabbit Hole. Instead of the Playboy mansion it was the world of science. Instead of vicious attacks on Hugh Hefner's character, Venter attacked the characters of just about anyone who pissed him off, stood in his way, or insulted him in any way during his long and fruitful career. Like Holly Madison, Venter engaged in very little self reflection of his own behavior while, at the same time, being keenly aware of every fault in those around him. Mistakes were certainly made, but not by him! The end result was a science tell all that was addictive to read, which also possibly included many inaccuracies. So why 5 stars? I could not put this book down! I am now motivated to read the Genome Wars to try to understand the real story, from a more objective source. I had to give this book 5 stars because it was the longest tantrum thrown by a scientist, possibly in the history of science biographies. At first, it appears as if Venter is able to look at his own flaws. He spent a lot time writing about his bad grades in high school, his forced placement into community college, etc. However, does he really see this as flaw? Hell no! He sees himself as a struggling Darwin who had a bit of trouble with maths but overcame it to be one of the world's most important figures. Venter, without question, sees himself as one of the world's most important people. Does he have the success to back it up? In some ways yes. In other ways-- not to the degree to which he admires himself. However, this book had it all: glorious science, amazing new discoveries, novel ideas, dirty science politics, personal relationship problems, and so on. Say what you will about his attitude, I haven't enjoyed reading a book this much in a long time.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-06-29 00:00:00 David A Hills Wow. Alternate titles he could have used: Vendetta: Righting All Those Wrongs. Venter used this book to get back at anyone who ever did anything wrong to him or doubted him or didn't support him or undercut him or or or. Then it becomes Toot Toot!: Blowing My Own Horn, because when he isn't getting back at anyone he's letting us know what a superior individual he is, ain't he grand! Even his genome is special. What was left of the book was dry science. Yes, this is an autobiography, he's writing about his life, but the tone is so self-serving and superior it made me roll my eyes. Yes, this is about mapping the human genome, there's going to be science, but I just listened to Bill Bryson who made science FASCINATING, so my standards were too high for Venter. But I'm such a glutton -- can't stop reading a book unless it is so bad it is making my eyes bleed -- so I listened to the whole damn thing. I came pretty close to putting this aside, but by then I'd already invested so much time in the story I decided to trudge on, rolling my eyes and snorting all the way.