Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I spent all my summers in a rural environment outside the metropolitan area. This "immersion" in nature shaped my interests and hobbies, centering them on different aspects of watching and understanding life. Expectedly therefore, my formal education also focused on biology, biochemistry, and cell biology. Being a scientist is not just a profession; it is a calling, a profession, and a hobby. Biology booksā€”strictly dry and professional and more engaging and emotionalā€”represent an inherent aspect of a scientist's life and place his/her research in a wide context of human society. This list includes several such books which I would like to share with you.


I wrote

Agrobacterium: From Biology to Biotechnology

By Vitaly Citovsky (editor), Tzvi Tzfira (editor),

Book cover of Agrobacterium: From Biology to Biotechnology

What is my book about?

Agrobacterium is a plant pathogen that causes 'crown-gall' disease, a neoplastic growth that results from the transfer of a DNAā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Agrobacterium Tumefaciens: From Plant Pathology to Biotechnology

Vitaly Citovsky Why did I love this book?

Many years ago, I became fascinated with the genetic modification of plants. Since then, I have enjoyed sharing this personal fascination with biology students and anyone who has pondered how GMO plants are made and whether they pose inherent risks to their users.

This specific book comes, so to speak, "from the horse's mouth" from the researchers who stood at the beginning of the advent of Agrobacterium, a natural genetic engineer, as a molecular machine to produce transgenic plants.

By Eugene Nester (editor), Milton P. Gordon (editor), Allen Kerr (editor)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Agrobacterium Tumefaciens as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This anthology traces the fascinating progress from plant pathology to biotechnology through 38 scientific papers on Agrobacterium, published over the past century. Included are the seminal scientific papers on the biology and application of Agrobacterium with introductory commentaries mostly by those involved in the original work. The commentaries give background to the papers and explain the problems faced and the techniques used, providing insight into the way fundamental research progresses.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens: From Plant Pathology to Biotechnology is divided into five sections. The first section begins with 1904 when Erwin F. Smith began detailed work on crown gall and consideredā€¦


Book cover of Golden Rice: The Imperiled Birth of a GMO Superfood

Vitaly Citovsky Why did I love this book?

This book describes the tumultuous fate of the transgenic rice called "Golden" due to its unique color, which derives from the transgenic production of beta-carotene. Upon consumption, the body converts this to vitamin A, a critical nutrient whose lack causes significant health problems.

Yet, the use of golden rice in third-world countries, which especially need this dietary supplement, has been hampered by unscientific conspiracy theories. This book debunks these myths and explains how golden rice can help tens of millions of people worldwide.

By Ed Regis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Golden Rice as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first book to tell the shocking story of Golden Rice, a genetically modified grain that provides essential Vitamin A and can save lives in developing countries-if only they were allowed to grow it.

Ordinary white rice is nutrient poor; it consists of carbohydrates and little else. About one million people who subsist on rice become blind or die each year from vitamin A deficiency. Golden Rice, which was developed in the hopes of combatting that problem by a team of European scientists in the late '90s, was genetically modified to provide an essential nutrient that white rice lacks: beta-carotene,ā€¦


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Book cover of What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

What Walks This Way by Sharman Apt Russell,

Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlifeā€”mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket miceā€”near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. She guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marksā€¦

Book cover of Biotechnology for Beginners

Vitaly Citovsky Why did I love this book?

This book expands my initial interest in GMO plants to other, very diverse fields of biotechnology. I find it useful and revealing for a wide spectrum of readers, from professionals to students to general readers, seeking to understand the general principles and approaches that underlie biotechnological developments that affect our lives, from plant and animal GMOs to vaccines.

By Reinhard Renneberg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Biotechnology for Beginners as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Biotechnology for Beginners, Third Edition presents the latest developments in the evolving field of biotechnology which has grown to such an extent over the past few years that increasing numbers of professional's work in areas that are directly impacted by the science. This book offers an exciting and colorful overview of biotechnology for professionals and students in a wide array of the life sciences, including genetics, immunology, biochemistry, agronomy and animal science. This book will also appeals to lay readers who do not have a scientific background but are interested in an entertaining and informative introduction to the key aspectsā€¦


Book cover of For the Love of Enzymes: The Odyssey of a Biochemist

Vitaly Citovsky Why did I love this book?

My last selected book comes from the pen of perhaps one of the most famous and influential scientists of the 20th century and the Nobel Prize laureate Arthur Kornberg.

This autobiographical book describes how Dr. Kornberg has made many of his seminal discoveries, including those of enzymes that allow modern genetic engineering. Yet, this is not just a book about science. Instead, it represents an insightful and profound description of human qualities, struggles, and "outside the box" thinking strategies that are critical for problem-solving and conceptual breakthroughs.

By Arthur Kornberg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked For the Love of Enzymes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1645 the Japanese samurai Musashi Miamoto wrote A Book of Five Rings, which described the attitudes necessary for individual success. Though he was a swordsman, his book was not limited to combat but addressed the much broader question of how to achieve excellence in life through study, discipline, and planning. It is still avidly read in Japan today. Arthur Kornberg's book is a modern-day Book of Five Rings that replaces the medium of swordsmanship with that of biochemistry, particularly enzymology. As Kornberg describes his successive research problems, the challenges they presented, and the ultimate accomplishments that resulted, he providesā€¦


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Book cover of Shortcake

Shortcake by Christopher Gorham Calvin,

Enter a captivating world where science fiction and thrilling suspense converge. After plummeting from the roof of Helix Unbound, Amanda awakens to a life devoid of memories. Desperately longing to fit in, yet sensing she harbors an extraordinary secret beneath her seemingly ordinary facade, she explores the unfamiliar world inā€¦

Explore my book šŸ˜€

Agrobacterium: From Biology to Biotechnology

By Vitaly Citovsky (editor), Tzvi Tzfira (editor),

Book cover of Agrobacterium: From Biology to Biotechnology

What is my book about?

Agrobacterium is a plant pathogen that causes 'crown-gall' disease, a neoplastic growth that results from the transfer of a DNA segment ('T-DNA') from the bacterial tumor-inducing plasmid to the host cell and its integration into the host genome. However, the native bacterial oncogenes encoded by the T-DNA can be replaced with beneficial genes of interest and introduced into plants, producing GMOs for research and agricultural applications.

Agrobacterium is the tool of choice for genetic engineering. Its ever-expanding host range includes many commercially important crops and non-plant species, from yeast to cultivated mushrooms, promising this microorganism a unique place in the future of biotechnological applications. The book is a comprehensive volume describing Agrobacterium's biology, interactions with host species, and uses for genetic engineering.

Book cover of Agrobacterium Tumefaciens: From Plant Pathology to Biotechnology
Book cover of Golden Rice: The Imperiled Birth of a GMO Superfood
Book cover of Biotechnology for Beginners

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Book cover of Trial, Error, and Success: 10 Insights into Realistic Knowledge, Thinking, and Emotional Intelligence

Trial, Error, and Success by Sima Dimitrijev, PhD, Maryann Karinch,

Everything in nature evolves by trial, error, and successā€”from fundamental physics, through evolution in biology, to how people learn, think, and decide.

This book presents a way of thinking and realistic knowledge that our formal education shuns. Stepping beyond this ignorance, the book shows how to deal with and evenā€¦

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Acquaintance by Jeff Stookey,

As a young doctor, Carl Holman has experienced the horrors of World War I and the death of his lover, a fellow officer. Back home after the War, he befriends a young jazz musician who he hopes will become a companion he can share his life with. But this isā€¦

1 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in biotechnology, genetic engineering, and rice?

Biotechnology 15 books
Rice 12 books