The Violinist's Thumb

And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code

By: Sam Kean

Narrated by: Henry Leyva

Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

From New York Times best-selling author Sam Kean come more incredible stories of science, history, language, and music, as told by our own DNA.

In The Disappearing Spoon, best-selling author Sam Kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table. In The Violinist's Thumb, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA.

There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs. Genes illuminate everything from JFK's bronze skin (it wasn't a tan) to Einstein's genius. They prove that Neanderthals and humans bred thousands of years more recently than any of us would feel comfortable thinking. They can even allow some people, because of the exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists.

Kean's vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species' future.

©2012 Sam Kean; 2012 Hachette Audio

Story of our genes - with depth!

This was my second Kean book, so I like the genre. You will walk away with a much deeper understanding of your genetics and my only fault with the book is that it sometimes goes into so much depth that I get lost - as a listener to the book instead of reading. Kean tries to bring the personal story behind the work of scientists - a clever way of us understanding the topic better. The narrator does a very good job - kept me on until the end.

sort of like reading text book

Although there are some interesting facts, this is about as interesting as reading a text book

Very good

2nd best Sam Kean book- just a hair or two behind The Disappearing Spoon. Definitely worth a listen if, like me, you're into painless education on highly technical, cutting-edge Popular Science

Amazing story, learned some science

This is the 3rd book of his I've listen too. Disappearing spoon and Caesar's last breath being the others. Kean can build a narrative that takes you on a crazy journey that blends science and history. In this one we explore DNA and evolution through the people that brought it to life. I loved the ride, and can't wait to listen to his other books.

Awesome!

Sam just has a way of making science so fascinating. Rebus were a cool bonus..

Well written and fascinating

All of Sam Kean’s books are both well written and incredibly interesting. I recommend anything he has written if you are interested in science, medicine, good writing and good storytelling.

Excellent Engaging Storyline about Genetics!

Imagination takes over this curiously and irresistible read on the genetic evolution of living things pre-human and post-human. From one cell creatures to invading viruses, the author takes you on an adventure thru every aspect that makes up life including genetic coding, the divisive diabolical ways of germs, virus and disease, as well as the miraculous ways DNA as well as RNA magically heal, restore, and replace things that have gone arrie in a multi-cell creature and its cause for concern in it's future offspring. I must say my favorite part has been the incredible stories of individuals and how the author makes them come alive in his passionate descriptions with a hint of smart ass thrown in. I laughed and absorbed incredible information as soon as the words lept into my car stereo speakers! A MUST READ or if you prefer like I did, A MUST LISTEN!

Always learn something

Sam Kean has a good grasp of several different areas relating to science. That, along with a good sense of humor, makes all of his books a joy to read.

One word - 'humanzee'!

A delightful and humorous, if disturbing, exploration of genetics for the general public. I'd say it is up there with Bill Bryson's works. It is just the right level of technical for me. (By that, I mean it is technical, but with no prerequisites.) Each chapter is a separate essay, but the collection builds with some strategy towards overall impact, which I appreciated. The author adds a personal context as well, by getting his genome tested, and I enjoyed that. We have overt genetic issues in my family, and the "crap shoot" element of it is a harsh reality that I was glad to see included in this book, to personalize it.

The book is filled with information that is the best of semi-sensational science. For example, we have another creature interwoven into our every cell, that is somewhat creepy! The Y chromosome has peculiar behaviors that keep making it smaller, but it seems somehow never to disappear altogether. I find that provocative. All the other primates have 48 chromosomes, we only have 46. Hmmm. Toxoplasmosis changes behavior - I knew about that in rodents, but it is fascinating to think about how that works with humans. (And, the aforementioned attempts to create a 'humanzee,' quite disturbing.)

The narrator takes great delight in sharing these stories, and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance.

The best of popular science, for me, includes this 'wow' factor. I love being reminded of how interesting our world is, and how many more mysteries there are to solve. I have no doubt it won't be for everybody - but I liked it quite a bit.

More DNA fundementals than stories

I loved The Disappearing Spoon, so I jumped into this book & his other on psychology (the name of which escapes me). While his psychology book was frustrating, for lack of a decent narrorator & for what little Kean put to paper on the subject, this book was simply disappointing. The Disappearing Spoon had so many stories & threads so well weaved together, by the end of the book they complemented eachother perfectly. This book spent a long, long time simply explaining DNA, and not near so much on the human drama caused or surrounding it like The Disappearing Spoon.

I think there are a few key factors to my disappointment, the horrible narration not withstanding - the dude reading the book still doesn't understand how to read without repeating the same sentence pacing over and over. First, we know little about how an entire chromosome interacts with itself, let alone all genes humans possess. Second, the need to explain DNA fundamentals to reach a broad audience, which are quite complicated. Third, the average scientist's modern professionalism getting in the way of good stories, which is the source of most we know about genes. All of these handicap the book before it's even written.

I think this and his book on psychology needed to wait another decade, minimum, for at least Kean to get practice writing books & more data to come out before they were written. Sad to see this book not get off the ground quite right.