The most recommended genetic engineering books

The ethics of war are rarely explored with more punch than in Ender’s Game. The story begins with what seems like a standard military coming-of-age tale with new recruits arriving at basic training – but very quickly, the reader learns that this ain’t your granddaddy’s basic. I appreciate the blend of cool sci-fi with realistic interpersonal conflict between recruits.

But the whole thing is ultimately a misdirection, and the surprise ending brings to center stage, in full spotlight, the question of to what lengths we will go in order to win a war. Who are we willing to sacrifice? What damage to our future are we willing to accept for victory in the present? It is written with a soft touch, but the weight of its message is undeniable.

This work of fiction highlights the potential dangers of genetic engineering.

It invites the reader to imagine a world in which it is possible to genetically modify early-stage human embryos, making changes that will determine the life-trajectory of the newborn.

In this world, Dr. Saul Kramer, a geneticist, and the head of a successful IVF clinic, uses CRISPR technology not to correct disease-causing genes in unhealthy embryos, but rather to insert a gene for a fatal genetic disease into healthy embryos.

Children born of these genetically modified embryos die in the first year of life. Notably, this is not a whodunnit, but a morality tale framed around the question of whether Dr. Kramer is a murderer. 

This is an oldie, but a goodie. I think this was one of the first books that introduced me into the idea of genetic modification and what might be possible if we could harness DNA from the environment around us. One of the most popular powers to choose in my own book is wings, and when people fill out the questionnaire on my website, that’s what they want. This book brings together the romance of the ability to fly, the love of a found family, and the pace of a thriller with high stakes to lose. One of my favorite books of all time, one I can re-read again and again.

A Crack in Creation was the first mainstream book that conveyed the extraordinary potential and ethical peril of the new genome editing technology, CRISPR. And who better to write it than the scientist who co-developed the “genetic scissors”, Professor Jennifer Doudna (who won the Nobel Prize three years later).

The book is also notable for the candid manner in which Doudna discusses her own nightmares about the potential misuse of CRISPR – fears that erupted one year later in the ‘CRISPR babies’ scandal.

Sally Smith Hughes' highly readable tale of the genesis of Genentech provides a no-holds-barred look into the gritty details of how biotech firms are born. Hughes reveals how scientists, lawyers, and venture capitalists work together and collide in a crucible of competing disciplines and desires to produce transformative advances. For those interesting in biotech entrepreneurship or simply investing in biotech, this book offers key foundational insights into the industry.

With DNA testing becoming increasingly popular in millions of households these days, children are being exposed to the topic at an early age. The author does an excellent job at describing the concept to kids (and to adults, if you are like me, because let’s face it, DNA science is complicated!). With a mix of bold illustrations and photos, we learn what DNA is, how it is responsible for who we are, how we can catch criminals with DNA, genetic engineering, and much more. There are no guesses. No fables. No secrets. Just easy-to-understand facts wrapped in a colorful package. There is something refreshing about that.

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.

Due to all the films based on the book, everyone is probably very familiar with the story: a billionaire uses technology to bring dinosaurs back to life, creates a theme park, and dinosaurs run amuck.

Here’s the thing: I read the book when it came out in 1990. At the time, I was working in a genetics laboratory. I was still 14 years away from writing full-time. I was even familiar with the research Crichton based the novel on. It was a 1982 research story about scientists who were able to collect DNA and other data from a fossil fly preserved in amber. So I, like everyone, was fascinated by the potential (and sort of kicking myself for not thinking of it first), even if, at that time, there were a few holes in Crichton’s technology.

But if you return to my original list of elements—exotic location, cutting-edge science, adventure,… show more.

Shards of Earth is a rip-roaring science fiction adventure story full of the things I love.

A rag-tag space salvage crew trying to survive and maybe profit against a backdrop of war and invasion finds themselves at the very center of events with the fate of humanity in the balance. There are vast, inscrutable alien death machines wrecking whole planets for reasons nobody can figure out. It even has weird human societies and weirder extraterrestrials.

It's a great space opera with vivid characters, amazing but plausible technology, and a grand scope.

Cyteen won a Hugo Award in 1989 and pushed the envelope on both world building and character development. For me though, it was the author’s exploration of what it means to be human that made this book one of my all-time favourites. 

In Cyteen, there are born humans and made people. Some of the made people are clones of a particularly powerful individual, but most are created to perform a function. These lower-ranked people are taught everything they need to know by ‘tape’, while they sleep. 

The book asks some deep philosophical questions about what makes a person human, and whether any of us have the right to create ‘sub-humans’ for our own benefit. These are powerful questions that still beg for answers.