Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History's Most Iconic Extinct Creatures

I was a bit disappointed in the book, as I was looking for a semi-scientific update on the chase to resurrect the woolly mammoth. I guess I was expecting something more like one of David Quammen's books, or even Stephen O'Brien's 'Tears of the Cheetah'. This is more in the lines of Michael Crichton. I skimmed through a lot of it, as I didn't really care how someone dressed or what they did or didn't do during their education years. BUT, for many people this might be a good blend of storytelling and fact. If instead you want to get to the nitty-gritty of the scientific/social process of modern-day genetics, this isn't for you.

A reader with a meager science background should not be deterred by the genetic and bio-technological vocabulary of this book. Mezrich's writing is both clear and entertaining throughout. Above all, this is a hopeful book in a time when many feel despair. The author's main "character" is George Church, a Harvard geneticist who spear-headed the Human Genome Project to sequence the genetic code of humans. He has also developed the Personal Genome Project to sequence the genes of people who know they are carrying genetic disorders for serious diseases. The hope is to identify defective genes and replace them so that future generations do not need to suffer. A second hope is presented in restoring extinct flora and fauna of our ecosystems through biotechnology. Since the extinction of the dinosaur, we have never faced such a rapid loss of species than we experience today. Over time, using biotechnology, we can restore and protect thousands of plants and animals which are currently extinct or endangered. The author discusses the work of Stewart Brand, co-founder and president of the Revive and Restore Project which has this as its mission. Finally, this book provides hope for the use of genetics to reverse the effects of climate change. With the "revival" of the woolly mammoth and other large herbivores to the tundra, our planet's largest biome, we may prevent the massive release of carbon dioxide and methane due to the melting of permafrost. It is a clean way to reverse the warming of our planet's atmosphere.The book includes a forthright discussion about the concerns for "scientists playing God" and tinkering with the make-up of organisms. But we have reached a tipping point in terms of the current and future survival for all living organisms on Earth. By reading this book, you too can be both informed and hopeful.

As a scientist (meteorologist) and someone who has always been fascinated with prehistoric mammals and dinosaurs I had to read this book.This true quest to revive the Woolly Mammoth is for a very, very good reason and it involves climate change. Scientists have learned that under the melting permafrost of the Arctic lies such a massive quantity of methane and carbon dioxide (two greenhouse gases) that if released could exacerbate the rate of global warming at a more alarming rate than even present day pollution. The Woolly Mammoth would actually help alleviate that melting, but you have to read the book. Dr. George Church is the man behind the genetics research and his spinoff studies have done so much already for humanity that you likely don't know. I'll leave it there... It's a fascinating read and you can find out just how close we are to making this quest a reality.

This book is presented as non-fiction. Which I suppose 90% of it is. Until you get to chapters dated “three years from today“. Nothing seems to come to fruition. There are teams all over the world competing to clone the woolly mammoth to help reverse climate change. And that’s as far as we get. No one has done much of anything. Too many characters not enough information. Lots of science jargon along with people with little personality who are brilliant but will bore you to tears. Maybe the author should’ve waited a couple of decades before attempting this book because there’s very little of anything to charge $13 for. I do believe this will be the first Amazon digital book that I will attempt to return

I loved this book. It's written more like a novel but it's a true story. It was written for people that are not familiar with science to understand but my geneticist daughter found that it made it a boring read for her. I look forward to following the developments of this woolly project!