Overall, I enjoyed this book and learned a lot. It was really fun to see the INCREDIBLE similarities between all living things that explain why we are built the way we are. Shubin did an OUTSTANDING job explaining things in way everybody can understand. The thing I think could have been better -- Shubin tells his own story quite a bit, especially in the first half ("I was a graduate student and I believed..." or "I used to go to attend such and such..."). I totally understand why he did this; sometimes telling the personal journey makes the information more interesting. But to be completely frank, it doesn't work for this book; his story is kinda long and boring, and I just wanted him to get to the real information. The book is short anyways, and I would have much preferred that he shave his personal story to 10% of its present size and instead put more on-topic information into the book. Nevertheless, definitely worth a read.
|