Product Description
More than half of America’s processed grocery products, from cornflakes to diet drinks, contain genetically altered ingredients. They are unlabeled and untested, and we’re eating it. YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW is a complete reference guide outlining how genetically modified foods get onto the family dining table and what consumers can do about it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Your Right to Know
Excellent book. The issue of genetic enginering of our food WITHOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE is something everyone in the US should know about.

Missing item
I ordered this book specifically because it had a removable shoppers quide.When it arrived the guide was missing from the book.By the time I discovered this I had thrown away the order information in the package.

Your Right To Know
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. There are so many people who are completely clueless about the foods they're purchasing at the food chains these days. Times have changed from the way our food was back in the day. They where REAL. What disturbs me with the media is that they are continueously advertising for us to buy these products that we think are REAL FOODS. Could it be that they are not aware? Or is it all about the $$$?

ABSOLUTE 'MUST READ'!
A good 'primer' on "Industrial greed, incompetence and criminal behavior".
Very informative.A real 'eye-opener'.

you are what you eat
Andrew Kimbrell, editor of the famed Fatal Harvest, has come out with a new book, Your Right to Know: Genetic Engineering and the Secret Changes in Your Food.It is a very comprehensive guide as to how genetically engineered foods are impacting our everyday lives.As someone who cares about local agriculture and food safety issues, it is nice to finally see a book like this available for likeminded people who want to know more about GE.The book does a great job covering many different issues from personal health and the ecological impacts to the revolving door between policy makers and industry lobbyers and the future of farming.Kimbrell makes issues surrounding industrial agriculture and GE accessible and educational- I found the book incredibly user-friendly.It is a great book to pick up and read while you wait for the water to boil- the short sections and educational inserts don't require large blocks of time. Your Right to Know also makes a great, educational coffee table book for families and foodies alike- it's full of informative pictures, interesting facts, and inspirational quotes.I especially love the chapter that goes through the supermarket aisle by aisle, telling you the pitfalls and rules of thumb for how to avoid GE foods.It even comes with a handy pull-out Pocket Shoppers' Guide that you can take with you when you go shopping as a reminder.This book is a must for anybody who cares about the food they eat! ... Read more

Product Description
Transgene technology since its inception, about two decades ago, has progressed rapidly providing platform for discovery, product design and novel plants which are improved source of food, feed, chemicals and drugs. This knowledge is changing rapidly by which plants develop their architecture to survive, abiotic and biotic stress, and become resistant to herbicides, pests and pathogens. Also the scene is set for a change from traditional farming to molecular farming. Moreover, gene silencing from a bane has turned out to be a boon, opening new vistas in genetic engineering of crop plants. In this book one can find an up-to-date account of aims and achievements of genetic engineering of crop plants. This book will useful for the undergraduate students of Botany, Biotechnology and Agriculture. ... Read more

Product Description
An introductory tour into the stranger-than-fiction world of genetic engineering, a scientific realm inhabited by eager researchers intent upon fashioning a prodigious medley of genetically modified (GM) organisms to serve human needs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An easier read than it looks!
Despite the difficult name and seemingly difficult genre, this book is easy to read and highly informative.It is a series of essays, each 2-5 pages long.They each address a different aspect of current work in biotechnology and genetic engineering.They are informative and leave the judgement to the end, finally telling whether each technology is something to provide hope for the future, something to be afraid of, or something that is probably impossible to achieve. ... Read more

Product Description
While the WTO agreements do not regulate the use of biotechnology per se, their rules can have a profound impact on the use of the technology for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. This book seeks to identify the challenges to international trade regulation that arise from biotechnology. The contributions examine whether existing international obligations of WTO Members are appropriate to deal with the issues arising for the use of biotechnology and whether there is a need for new international legal instruments, including a potential WTO Agreement on Biotechnology. They combine various perspectives on and topics relating to genetic engineering and trade, including human rights and gender; intellectual property rights; traditional knowledge and access and benefit sharing; food security, trade and agricultural production and food safety; and medical research, cloning and international trade. ... Read more

Product Description
Discusses current and potential uses of genetic engineering in fields such as medicine, criminal investigation, and agriculture and examines some of the ethical questions involved. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

it's so interesting
I have always been interested in genetic engineering but i thought the books that were written about it were so boring. Well i am just a layman and also a teen and this book it's the best ever. i read it easily in 3 days. I am doing an essay at school and i needed it. I's full of usefulinformation about genetic engineering and devided into small sections inorder to be easy readable. so i recoment it! it's a great book ... Read more

Product Description
Fears about the dangers of human cloning, the impact of genetically engineered babies, and the risks of genetically modified foods continue to stimulate the debate over genetic engineering. In this newly updated anthology, authors submit their views about the risks and benefits of genetic engineering and how genetic engineering should be regulated, if at all. (20020801) ... Read more

Product Description
Eating genetically modified food is gambling with every bite.

The biotech industry’s claim that genetically modified (GM) foods are safe is shattered in this groundbreaking book. Nearly forty health risks of the foods that Americans eat every day are presented in easy-to-read two-page spreads. The left page is designed for the quick scanning reader; it includes bullets, illustrations, and quotes. The right side offers fully referenced text, describing both research studies and theoretical risks. It is presented in the clear, accessible style that made Jeffrey Smith’s Seeds of Deception the world’s best-selling book on genetically engineered foods.

The second half of Genetic Roulette explores why children are most at risk, how to avoid GM foods, false claims by biotech advocates, how industry research is rigged to avoid finding problems, why GM crops are not needed to feed the world, the economic losses associated with these crops, and more.

This book, prepared in collaboration with a team of international scientists, is for anyone wanting to understand GM technology, to learn how to protect themselves, or to share their concerns with others. As the world’s most complete reference on the health risks of GM foods, Genetic Roulette is also ideal for schools and libraries. Consider some findings:

Animals fed genetically modified (GM) foods developed bleeding stomachs, potentially precancerous cell growth, damaged organs and immune systems, kidney inflammation, problems with blood and liver cells, and unexplained deaths.

Soy allergies skyrocketed in the United Kingdom after GM soy was introduced.

Genes from GM crops transfer to human gut bacteria. This might transform our intestinal flora into living pesticide factories. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Good Review
since I had read Seeds of Deception, this book basically was a review for me because it mostly had the same information in it.

This is a must own book.
I knew absolutely nothing about Monsanto or GMOs until a good friend put some brochures in my hand on March 31.She had been to a seminar where Jeffrey M. Smith was speaking.Those brochures can be found at [...].

This book is important in that it gives people like me who are 100% in this fight something to say to people who haven't a clue."Go read Genetic Roulette" please. Do it for your health and your children's health.

I for one, don't remember signing up for this lab experiment.Maybe I'm wrong, but don't people get paid for participating in Scientific Experiments?That our government should put us through this and not even bother to let us know what is going on our dinner table really makes me angry with them.I thought things had to be labeled in this country.The UK bans this stuff, China gets labels... and in the USA most people don't even know what a GMO is.

We have been GMO free, (as much as possible without proper labeling), and my daughter's stomach aches are gone.My son's growing pains are gone.My headaches are gone.We are all losing weight without even trying.I'm convinced.

I don't need Jeffrey M. Smith to tell me this is a huge issue.But I am so thankful to him for bringing it to my attention, first in the brochures and then with the books.Life is too sweet to spend it feeling ill.

I'm a Brazilian agronomist
I'm a Brazilian agronomist and I tried to read, online this trash-book, here in Brazil. And I must tell that this book is 100% percent against GMO (genetically modified organisms) and also a trash-book.
I began to read this trash-book, online. At the page 49, the author and crook wrote about a "research" "did" in a Russian "famous" "scientific" journal called Ecosinform. This "research" reproduced on page 49 of this trash-book, claims that mortality rate among rat pups that ate GMO soy was 50%, against 10% among rat pups that ate non GMO. Well, I became curious about this "research". Very curious, I went to google and finally I realized that the Russian "famous" "scientific" journal called Ecosinform doesn't existed in any time; at least until today. The crook that wrote this garbage invented, from his sick mind, a lot of hysteria against genetically modified organisms. After see this level of decieve, I decided not to read the rest of this garbage.
This trash has only two real uses:
1-You can know the level of pseudo-scientific hysteria, preached by Greepeace, Friends of Earth, Al Gore, etc.
2-You can read on some others reviews of this same book, how easily average Americans are decieved by a charlatan.

One man's fact is another man's unsubstantiated scaremongering
Largely based on unsubstantiated anecdote and vague studies by anti-GM groups, whilst at the same time ignoring the many independant peer-reviewed papers that show his many 'facts' to be incorrect at best and completely fabricated at worst.

Do a web search for 'Academics review genetic roulette' for a chapter by chapter analysis of this book in the context of peer reviewed data. An intelligent mind will always read both sides of the story.

Which do you believe?

Excellent, if just for the references alone!
This is an excellent companion to The Gmo Trilogy, for readers who wish to go into greater depth. The book explores possible medical risks associated with eating genetically modified foods, and comprises 1-2 page abstracts and essays by researchers. There are a lot more hypotheses than actual conclusions here, so none of these works have reached the stage of becoming peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals. Skeptics may attach whatever significance they wish to that fact, but the references to each article are published, verifiable, and legitimate. In fact, if the dangers of GMO foods is a topic of interest to you, this book is a worthwhile purchase for the references alone! The articles are all of a scientific nature, and do not address social, political, or economic issues.

One recurring theme which comes up in these pages is the idea of drug resistance transmitted from ingested foods to intestinal flora. A common trait of many genetically modified plants is selective pesticide resistance. The desired crop can then be sprayed with these pesticides. It was previously believed that stomach acid would break down the plasmids which confer pesticide resistance, but that has been shown to be incorrect. Intact plasmids have been recovered from intestinal washings. There is prescedent to hypothesize that these plasmids could be transferred to gut flora, and under the right conditions, could cause a multidrug-resistant intestinal infection.

I don't have the expertise to judge the danger this may represent (maybe nobody does), but I would be interested in comments from anybody scientifically trained in these fields ... Read more

Product Description
Summarizing landmark research, Volume 3 of this essentialseries furnishes information on the availability of germplasm resources that breeders can exploit for producing high-yielding vegetable crop varieties. Written by leading international experts, this volume offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on employing genetic resources to increase the yield of those vegetable crops that provide a main source of minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants.

In eleven succinct chapters, Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement: Vegetable Crops, Volume 3 focuses on potato, tomato, brassicas, okra, capsicum, alliums, cucurbits, lettuce, eggplant, and carrot.

An introductory chapter outlines the cytogenetic architecture of vegetable crops, describes the principles and strategies of cytogenetics and breeding, and summarizes landmarks in current research. This sets the stage for the ensuing crop-specific chapters. Each chapter generally provides a comprehensive account of the crop, its origin and taxonomy, wild relatives, exploitation of genetic resources diversity in the primary, secondary, and tertiary gene pools through breeding and cytogenetic manipulation, and genetic enrichment using the tools of molecular genetics and biotechnology.

Certain to become the standard reference for improving the yields of these critical vegetable crops, this book is the definitive source of information for plant breeders, gene-bankers, cytogeneticists, taxonomists, molecular biologists, biotechnologists, and graduate students, researchers, agronomists, horticulturists, farmers and consumers in these fields. ... Read more

Product Description
By the year 2050, Earth's population will double. If we continue with current farming practices, vast amounts of wilderness will be lost, millions of birds and billions of insects will die, and the public will lose billions of dollars as a consequence of environmental degradation. Clearly, there must be a better way to meet the need for increased food production.

Written as part memoir, part instruction, and part contemplation, Tomorrow's Table argues that a judicious blend of two important strands of agriculture--genetic engineering and organic farming--is key to helping feed the world's growing population in an ecologically balanced manner. Pamela Ronald, a geneticist, and her husband, Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer, take the reader inside their lives for roughly a year, allowing us to look over their shoulders so that we can see what geneticists and organic farmers actually do.The reader sees the problems that farmers face, trying to provide larger yields without resorting to expensive or environmentally hazardous chemicals, a problem that will loom larger and larger as the century progresses. They learn how organic farmers and geneticists address these problems.

This book is for consumers, farmers, and policy decision makers who want to make food choices and policy that will support ecologically responsible farming practices. It is also for anyone who wants accurate information about organic farming, genetic engineering, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Foxes in the Hen House
Another book written by a University Professor who sits firmly in the GMO camp. "GMO's will save the world from hunger, blah, blah, blah". What makes this interesting is that she has managed to convince her husband, a supposed former organic farmer turned University of California bureaucrat managing a student garden to sign off on it. I am a genuine organic farmer who earns his living growing and selling certified organic vegetables in our "free market system" and I say "so what?". I know plenty of organic farmers who view organics as simply an alternate agricultural production system that can pay bigger dividends. Sounds like Raul found even bigger dividends as a government employee and now he's found a forum to speak out against "organics" and to make a dime while doing it.

While there may be instances where GMO's can be developed to strengthen a plants resistance to environmental pressures; these herbicide resistant GMO's grown all over the Midwest are poison, plain and simple. They have been developed for two purposes. One is to enrich the corporations and ultimately their owners. Two is to create a passive, ill society that is too fat and stupid to speak out. Go to a grocery store and look at the people in line and the GMO foods in their baskets and see for yourself.

Do not eat GMO food, ever. If you are a GMO farmer who wants to change contact Acres USA and get some professional support today.

Genetic engineering of crops and organic farming are not opposites
This book will clear a lot of misconceptions created by opponents of genetically engineered crops with concerns about their safety for humans, animals and the environment. Based on scientific facts only, it demonstrates that GE plants organically grown is the best strategy for food production without pesticide residues in our food products and the environment. Information is very well presented so that the non-biologist reader will understand it very well. Highly recommended.

What about us and the animals?
I do not want to doubt the intentions behind the book's advocacy for marrying organic farming and genetic manipulation. The effort to raise yields while maintaining ecological balance is supposed to be a noble cause.

The biggest concern I have on genetically manipulated crops is their effects on the immune systems of humans and the animals who ingest them. Since genetical engineering is a relatively new and cutting-edge technology, research on the long-term health ramifications on the individuals and their offspring remain scant. In other words, we really do not know how the GE crops are affecting our bodies, our reproductive cells, and our next generations' physiology.

I'd stick with "purely" organic stuff as much as possible. My children may still come out weird and retarded, but I cannot blame it on the GE food I ate.

Help Solve the Growing Problems of Population and Hunger
Authors Ronald and Adamchak are an odd couple: Ronald a Professor of Plant
Pathology and a supporter of bioengineering; Adamchak is an organic farmer, and has served on the board, as President and an in-the-field inspector of the California Certified Organic Farmers organization.Together, this husband and wife team may provide one of the most balanced views of how genetic engineering can not only co-exist with organic farming, but make organic farming healthier, safer, and more efficient. By combining the best techniques of both, Ronald and Adamchak argue that transgenic crops will be able to help solve the growing problems of population and hunger. The first part of Tomorrow's Table is anexcellent introduction to organic farming and biotech, not too technical for non-scientists, but deep enough for those who want to know more about the science involved. The second half digs into the arguments used by the organic community against genetically engineered crops, how they can be, or have been, answered, and make a compelling argument that biotech can benefit the world in a responsible and healthy way.

If one proclaims 1 + 1= 3 enough times does it become true?
That this book was such an easy and interesting read by clearly intelligent and caring people does not negate it's chief problem. The authors of this book repeat yet again the misrepresentation that genetically engineered plants have been tested and proven safe. If something has been proven safe then tests would have been conducted and they would have been published, somewhere. To make the claim that something is safe because tests have not been conducted is absolute rubish. I scratch my head and remain aghast. I even know these people and like them. Has the entire world gone mad? Do we live in alternate universes?

The plant genetic engineers have been repeating this mantra since the mid 1980's when the purging of all of the scientists who dared to question the safety of the products of this very complex and sophisticated technology began. With so few at the major universities left to question or test the products of the technology how could safety testing be conducted? One would think that they would be proud of the wizardry that they had mastered and thus share the products of their finesse with pride.

The reported costs of developing a new open pollinated classically bred variety runs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars. The cost of developing a new genetically engineered variety starts in the millions. Now, if we need many new varieties worldwide suited to the very different environments that people farm, why would we use the most costly one? And why would anyone advocate using an untested technology to solve the massive problems of our times?

I agree that we do need more varieties suitable for the super changing climate predicted. How to achieve this is where the authors and I disagree.What we need are local plant breeders who are funded and enabled to actually breed suitable varieties in an efficient way. And plant breeders can certainly muster adding a single gene from one rice line to another with something called back-crossing. But plant breeders are the very group of people who have been unfunded for over a decade thanks to what Reaganomics brought to us. The requirement that public university scientists secure private grants to pay for their research began the shift to more expensive, more propriety technologies. Along with that funding the knowledge gained became not the property of the public but the property of the corporation providing that money. Who have obligations to their shareholders to post profits.

I am all for studying genetics and experimenting with and learning in a lab and greenhouse how genes express themselves and how we can use that knowledge. These folks should have been publicly funded andthe new life forms developed should have had the chance to be properly tested before release. But these scientists were not fully funded by us. They had to go out and scrounge for money and lots of it as this was pricey cutting edge stuff at the time and still is. My belief is that it was the need for money that encouraged these gifted scientists to overstate the potential good and understate the potential harms inherent in releasing life forms so new and untested en masse out into the agricultural landscape of our farmlands. I do believe that if they had not been rushed to have some product to release for sale by corporations that they would have provided their new life forms to the public for proper testing.

So, despite all the good intentions and potential sustainable uses of these new technologies, open and honest testing should still be a prerequisite to release. Until transparent safety testing has been published I do not think that you will find organic farmers clamoring to use the products of this technology.






... Read more

Product Description
This self-contained reference explains genetic algorithms, the probabilistic search techniques based on the principles of biological evolution which permit engineers to analyze large numbers of variables. It addresses this important advance in AI, which can be used to better design and produce high quality products. The book presents the state-of-the-art in this field as applied to the engineering design process. All algorithms have been programmed in C and source codes are available in the appendix to help readers tailor the programs to fit their specific needs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

a very nice book for beginner
This is a very nice book for beginners. It is a well-organized and excellent text covering fully up-to-date treatment of genetic algorithms in industrial engineering and operationas research. Especially, its unique, creative and intuitive approach makes the complex subject transparent and understandable. I fond the book very much and used the materials in my classes.

a nice book for a beginner
It is a very nice book for a beginner. It is a well-organized and excellent text covering fully up-to-date treatment of genetic algorithms in industrial engineering and operationas research. Especially, its unique, creative and intuitive approach makes the complex subject transparent and understandable. I fond the book very much and used the materials in my classes. ... Read more

Product Description
What is genetic engineering?How is it carried out and what can it do?What is cancer and can genetic engineering provide a cure?Why is AIDS so difficult to cure?Which diseases are determined genetically, and how are they passed on from parents to their children?Is intelligence genetically determined?Can gene therapy cure all our genetic diseases?Can genetic engineering solve the problem of world famine?Are genetically-engineered organisms a threat to the Earth's ecology?Should people be discriminated against by insurance companies and employers because of their genes?Who should make decisions about ethical problems created by genetic engineering? These and related questions are addressed in this clear account of genetic engineering, a technology which will soon touch all our lives.Accessible to readers with no previous scientific knowledge, the book explains the underlying science in simple and lucid terms, and goes on to deal with controversial issues which are already confronting society. Rather than taking sides over the acceptability of genetic engineering and its applications, the authors enable readers to make up their own minds about the benefits and problems related to this technology. The Genetic Revolution has already begun and it will likely have an evengreater impact on human society than the Industrial Revolution. This thought-provoking guide is for everyone who wishes to understand the potential benefits and pitfalls of the new revolution and to help ensure that its powerful techniques are used wisely. ... Read more

Product Description
Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering of Yeasts presents a comprehensive examination of how yeasts are used in genetic engineering. The book discusses baker's yeast, in addition to a number of unconventional yeasts being used in an increasing number of studies.175 figures help illustrate the information presented.Topics discussed include yeast transformation, yeast plasmids, protein localization and processing in yeast, protein secretion, various aspects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and heterologous expression and secretion. ... Read more

Product Description
Science fiction becomes science fact in this intriguing series that explores the extraordinary scientific advances modern man is making - and their impact on society, economics and our future. ... Read more

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MSC (mesenchymal stem cells) have been reported to initiate revascularization after injury, to facilitate engraftment of blood-forming stem cells, and to reduce the incidence of graft-vs. host disease through their immune-suppressive qualities. Finally, bone marrow-derived MSC have been reported to home to areas of solid tumor revascularization, and thus may be used as delivery vehicles to target ablative agents into dividing tumor cells. Recently the characteristics of human MSC from adipose (fat) tissue have also been identified. The possibility of repairing tissues, speeding stem cell engraftment, and targeting solid tumors for specific killing, using MSC easily harvested from bone marrow, or better yet, from unwanted fat tissue, holds broad appeal, and is an intriguing possibility that could have dramatic effect on health care.

This book has information on how to isolate, grow, and characterize MSC from marrow and fat, and gives important insight into how these cells may be used for gene delivery and cellular therapies in the future. Updates on emerging clinical trials are given.

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Product Description

An Introduction to Systems Bioengineering
Takes a Clear and Systematic Engineering Approach to Systems Biology

Focusing on genetic regulatory networks, Engineering Genetic Circuits presents the modeling, analysis, and design methods for systems biology. It discusses how to examine experimental data to learn about mathematical models, develop efficient abstraction and simulation methods to analyze these models, and use analytical methods to guide the design of new circuits.

After reviewing the basic molecular biology and biochemistry principles needed to understand genetic circuits, the book describes modern experimental techniques and methods for discovering genetic circuit models from the data generated by experiments. The next four chapters present state-of-the-art methods for analyzing these genetic circuit models. The final chapter explores how researchers are beginning to use analytical methods to design synthetic genetic circuits.

This text clearly shows how the success of systems biology depends on collaborations between engineers and biologists. From biomolecular observations to mathematical models to circuit design, it provides essential information on genetic circuits and engineering techniques that can be used to study biological systems.

Customer Reviews (1)

excellent resource for any systems biology course
"Prof Myers' book will be an excellent reference for any course in systems biology.... I find the many illustrations (worked out examples and ample number of figures) and exercises at the end of each chapter quite useful and important."-Baltazar Aguda, Ph.D., The Ohio State University ... Read more

Product Description
This book is a philosophically sophisticated and scientifically well-informed discussion of the moral and social issues raised by genetically engineering animals, a powerful technology that has major implications for society. Unlike other books on this emotionally charged subject, the author attempts to inform, not inflame, the reader about the real problems society must address in order to manage this technology. Nontechnical and anecdotal in nature, written by a professor of philosophy, physiology and biophysics, this book will appeal to both specialists and general readers with an interest in genetic engineering. ... Read more

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Human genetic engineering may soon be possible. The gathering debate about this prospect already threatens to become mired in irresolvable disagreement. After surveying the scientific and technological developments that have brought us to this pass, The Ethics of Genetic Engineering focuses on the ethical and policy debate, noting the deep divide that separates proponents and opponents. The book locates the source of this divide in differing framing assumptions: reductionist pluralist on one side, holist communitarian on the other. The book argues that we must bridge this divide, drawing on the resources from both encampments, if we are to understand and cope with the distinctive problems posed by genetic engineering. These problems, termed "fractious problems," are novel, complex, ethically fraught, unavoidably of public concern, and unavoidably divisive. Berry examines three prominent ethical and political theories – utilitarianism, Kantianism, and virtue ethics – to consider their competency in bridging the divide and addressing these fractious problems.

The book concludes that virtue ethics can best guide parental decision making and that a new policymaking approach sketched here, a "navigational approach," can best guide policymaking. These approaches enable us to gain a rich understanding of the problems posed and to craft resolutions adequate to their challenges.

Product Description
Forget worries about cloning people. In the future, technological advances will bring far more meaningful and controversial changes to our offspring, says Gregory Stock. As scientists rapidly improve their ability to identify and manipulate genes, people will want to protect their future children from diseases, help them live longer, and even influence their looks and their abilities. Stock, an expert on the implications of recent advances in reproductive biology, clearly shows that neither governments nor religious groups will be able to stop the coming trend of choosing an embryo's genes.Amazon.com Review
Will the genetic research that gave us the Flavr Savr tomato also give us the power to customize our children? Medical thinker Gregory Stock believes that this is precisely what's happening and that we'd better get used to it fast. Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future explores gender selection, gene therapy, germinal choice, and many more options available now or in the near future, but lays aside the hysteria common to such discussions.

Stock sees the cloning controversy as a distraction from issues of real importance, such as balancing offspring trait selection against eugenics. Writing with the clarity and precision of a philosopher, Stock engages his readers with thought exercises and real-life examples. While not a brainless cheerleader for big science, he believes that we can, and certainly will, use any means necessary to give our children an edge, even if it means profound changes for our species. Redesigning Humans offers the hope that these changes need not be catastrophic if we pay attention now. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Gregory Stock Proclaims "THE SUPERMAN" !
At long last, real hope for the future, and an INEVITABLE "Final Solution", to the "Human Problem".
Bring it on !

necessary writing regarding important ideas
This book elucidates many if not all of the issues surrounding germline modification, such as public reaction, future effects on the human species, ethical dilemmas, and regulation. It presented many ideas I had not thought of and further described some I had. It is a bit slow at first and also does cover some of the origins of genetics, but the latter half of the book is completely worth reading to consider many of the results of germline engineering.

Good topic, poor book
This book could have been written in 1/3 the pages.It continously poses the same argument for the same reasons over and over.Yes, that is good for emphasis, but unfortunately it does so in a few places ineffectively.There are numerous logical errors throughout the book (3 in the first 15 pages) and a couple of poor editing points making this book painful to read at points.I give this book its second star only for the great topic it attempts to talk about.

Like It Or No, a Solid Overview of the Field
The author, putting aside the social debate on the subject, does an excellent job of presenting what is happening and what will happen in the genetic engineering field in the coming years. The impulse towards eugenics comes hand-in-hand with a culture obsessed with the material. Equally so, the impulse to protect one's child from cancer and heart disease will play a role. Regardless of the source of new genetic practices, the practices themselves will change our society.

If you'd like to understand just what that society might look like, take a look at this excellent work.

finally, objective coverage of this subject without preaching
ive read several books on this topic, and this is the best of them.the author faces the reality that humans will take advantage of emerging genetic technologies as they become available, safe, and affordable.it really is an "inevitable genetic future", but most authors are lost on that fact as they yammer endlessly about this and that precaution.people are comfortable with the status quo and try to preserve it.pioneers see that it wont last and look beyond.make no mistake, this author too addresses precautions but doesnt overdo it like other commentators.the authors stance on redesigning humans is not so much unqualified support for it as it is acceptance of its inevitability.the author does support it but in a dignified manner i thought, not in a cheerleading fashion.

this book is a look at what will come to be.its not a question of if, but when.that said, you should know whats in store for mankind.i find it very exciting.this isnt time travel, its something more immediate.america and the west may resist now, but the East shows no such disinclination.once they leapfrog us, as they are poised to do, we will see the folly of our overprotective ways.but i would be interested to discuss this in the forum.

a thought provoking and concise book (about 220 pgs without extras at the end), also recent.highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
In an unprecedented quest for Olympic gold in both the 100 and 1500 meters, a troubled track coach and his young protege uncover a shocking conspiracy. With its blend of cutting-edge science, legal intrigue and conspiracy elements, this timely thriller will delight fans of suspense and sports fiction alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

The Author hooked me
I was expecting to give this running book a 3 or 4 (of 5 stars) originally.The author hooked me from the start and brought two plot lines together.Nice work - nice read - I loved the running aspect of it, and the other plot line was the part that pleasantly surprised me.

Fast, Fun and Intriguing
The Champion Maker is an entertaining novel for runners and non-runners alike. Kevin Joseph weaves a fascinating plot and populates his novel with very interesting characters. His race scenes are as good as any I've ever read. I kept thinking this book would be terrific as an edge of your seat movie. It's more than just a thriller, though.As it zips along, it raises interesting questions about what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of competitive athletics. I could see why so many readers gave it a 5.The trouble I have with ratings systems is that they don't capture nuances. I typically reserve 5 ratings for the greats works of literature.If the best Shakespeare could get is a 5, it's hard to see how something by Stephen King deserves a 5, no matter how good the novel is.The Champion Maker is an intelligent, interesting book, and if there was a 4+ rating, that is what I would give it.

One of a few books I read cover to cover.
I was born and I spent my early teens in East Europe. During this time, I saw Emil Zatopek, a.k.a. "The Czech Locomotive" winning, by a wide margin, all the long distance runs in which he participated. Rumors about a possible secret diet or a mysterious way of training, abounded.
All this was -of course- fiction but, in the era of James Frey and his now infamous fictional "non-fiction" best seller, Kevin Joseph's "The Champion Maker" represents a healthy opposite: today's fictional novel = tomorrow's breaking news.
In the 21st Century, genetic engineering makes everythingpossible and, "The Champion Maker" explains it with clarity.
I recommend this book.
J.J.N.
P.S.: Listening to Andre Segovia's C.D.'s in the car as an antidote to road rage (page 28) ? Probably safer than Prozac !

GREAT RUNNING STORY
I'm a runner and running book junkie and loved the realistic way the training and races were described.Bullet's progression from stellar high school performances, to elite training under Coach Vance, to the record breaking race in the Olympic Trials was very believable.The plot was clever as well.Lots of suspense, and the twists kept me guessing until the end.

full of interesting ideas, but marred by plausibility
Nick Vance is a washed up former world class runner.He was a favorite to win Gold in the 1500m in the 1980 Moscow Olympics before the boycott, then his wife committed suicide and twenty years later he ended up writing for a running magazine and drinking too much.That is, until he is sent to write a piece on a high school kid nicknamed "Bullet".Bullet is a phenom.He excels at both the 100 meters and the 1600 meters, which is a rare double and he can move up to the 3200 meters with equal success.He has all the talent in the world, but a chip on his shoulder and he isn't putting in the work to become truly world class.Nick assignment turns into an opportunity for both as Nick begins to coach Bullet for the Olympics in just a few months.By the end of his senior track season, Bullet has already set a World Record in the 100 meters and still wants to double in the 1500....until he tests positive for an illegal substance and everything starts crashing down.Bullet is clean, though.Nick and Bullet try to clear his name and his eligibility before the Olympics.

If this was the entire story I would have been sold.I am very interested in running and combining elite running with a thriller with twists and surprises is a great idea.It's even plausible so far.There is a conspiracy going on here and the possibility of high technology and I buy it.But this is only two thirds of the overall story.The other third, which gradually comes together with the main story of Nick and Bullet, is that of a mysterious young woman named Cassandra.Cassandra has ESP.She can read people's minds and get glimpses of the future and her future is intertwined with Bullet's.This isn't a spoiler of any sort because if Cassandra had nothing to do with Bullet we would have a very unfocused novel.In what way she is intertwined with Bullet, I'll leave that to the reader's imagination.

I am more than willing to accept technologies and techniques that are far more advanced than what the average person knows about.I'll accept secret government conspiracies and double dealings.The Champion Maker is a thriller; it is part of the genre and is what the thriller deals with.So, the core of the novel is grounded in reality, though Bullet's World Record against high school competition raises the eyebrows in the runner in me.There may be new technology and technology that pushes the boundaries of what we know, but it's grounded in reality.Into this world grounded in reality is a girl with ESP and can see the future.My Implausibility Detector goes off at this point.I read science fiction and fantasy, so I am more than comfortable with any sort of extra sensory talents or abilities.But it has to fit the world the author creates.Kevin Joseph has written a world that is our world.So, he grounds his characters and technologies and threats in what is real and what is possible.While ESP may or may not be real and may or may not be possible, it jumps out as being entirely unnatural to the world the rest of the characters inhabit.It is a distraction and knocks the book down a peg or two.

Once I turned off my Implausibility Detector, I found The Champion Maker to be a fairly enjoyable, fast paced book.It's nothing that I would rush out and tell everyone I meet that they have to read this book, but it was decent and it wasn't a waste of my time.The novel is not anything remarkable, but it was a quick read that offered some excitement, action, and running.If Kevin Joseph had left the whole ESP thing out of the book, I'd have been happier.There is an explanation in the novel of why and how, but it doesn't fit the tone and style of the rest of the book.It seemed to offer the author an easy way out of situations.Deus Ex Machina?Deus Ex ESP.

-Joe Sherry ... Read more