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The Violinist's Thumb
The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code | Sam Kean
10 posts | 23 read | 23 to read
From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes more incredible stories of science, history, language, and music, as told by our own DNA. In The Disappearing Spoon, bestselling 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.
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review
Kaila-ann
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Pickpick

Overall I enjoyed this book. There was a lot of information but Sam Kean has a way of breaking it down and making it entertaining. I will say that this one wasn‘t quite as approachable as The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeon- I‘m not sure if it was the subject matter or the deliverance of the material. Still an enjoyable read and I have sent it off to a fellow litten to enjoy.

IamIamIam 😍😍😍 Whoo hoo!!! It's been FOREVER since I wasn't terrified to open the mailbox! 😂 4y
Kaila-ann @IamIamIam well this should definitely be a good mail day ❤️. 4y
IamIamIam @Kaila-ann Thank you so much!!! I promise to pay it forward when I'm finished. 😁 Hope all is well!! 4y
22 likes3 comments
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Kaila-ann
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I‘m so excited for round 7 of #lmpbc with a nonfiction category. I‘ve been trying to read more nonfiction and there is a lot of it on my TBR to pick from as well. I‘ve narrowed it down and I‘ll tag the other books in the comments. Let me know if any of these choices stand out to you all.

See All 12 Comments
jb72 I‘ve been wanting to read The Devil in the White City. 5y
REPollock Of these, I‘ve read Devil in the White City. The others all sound interesting! 5y
Kaila-ann @jb72 since @REPollock has already read that one, do any of the rest of these sound good? 5y
Sbk89 The Bookseller of Kabul looks pretty good! 😍🙏🏻 5y
jb72 Any are fine with me except The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. I‘ve read part of that and didn‘t really enjoy it. And frankly I‘d push through it if everyone else wanted to read it. (edited) 5y
Kaila-ann @jb72 @Sbk89 @REPollock I‘m going to go with this one - has anyone else picked out a book? I‘m excited 😊 (edited) 5y
jb72 @Kaila-ann I‘m actually looking through some books now. I‘ll be posting here in a bit with some choices. 5y
21 likes12 comments
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RamsFan1963
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Pickpick

Sam Kean is to science non-fiction as Erik Larson is to history, he makes it exciting, interesting, really come to life. Taking a hard subject like DNA and genetics, Kean mixes science, anecdotes and history to make the ideas easy to grasp, and see how mankind came to be what it is today. 4 💥💥💥💥 out of 5.

55 likes2 stack adds
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LitDrivenGirl
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A customer couldn't stop telling me about Sam Kean's books... so when I ordered one for her, I ordered this one about genetics for me. Genetics are fascinating to me and I haven't read many that were very good, fingers crossed for this one! The others are from my Saturday thrift shopping. I'm so excited 'Prep' was waiting for me 😁. I finished the arc for Sittenfeld's new book last week and now I'm ready for backlist reading 👐. #bookhaul #science

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CSeydel
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1. My most recent lace bookmark
2. I bought Violinists Thumb when I visited Powells Books several years ago. Still haven‘t managed to read it.
3. Vegetarian chili over fries.
4. Right now probably #freakyfriday
5. Ragtime by E L Doctorow. Haven‘t read it.

#humpdaypost

monalyisha D‘awww. ☺️ 7y
nelehelen Beautiful! 7y
LeahBergen Your bookmark is beautiful 💕 7y
See All 8 Comments
Susanita Mmm. Now I want vegetarian chili over spaghetti. 7y
Gissy So pretty! ❤️ 7y
readinginthedark Your dinner sounds delicious! 7y
CSeydel It was pretty good. Basic, but tasty 😋 @Susanita @readinginthedark (edited) 7y
80 likes8 comments
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GoneFishing

The irony is too rich not to point out. When arranging the different human races in tiers, from just below the angels to just above the brutes, smug racialist scientists of the 1800s always equated black skin with ‘subhuman‘ beasts like Neanderthals. But facts is facts: pure Nordic Europeans carry far more Neanderthal DNA than any modern African.

17 likes1 stack add
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Chuquizuta
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100 pages in , it is a very interesting book so far , but it deals with one of the most controversial issues of the modern age .

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rabbitprincess
Pickpick

An interesting book that covers the history of how DNA was discovered, catalogues the ways in which it can mutate and go wrong, and ponders how humans will use their knowledge of DNA for scientific or medical ends. Recommended if you like Kean's other work.

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rabbitprincess

8% of our genome isn't human at all: a quarter billion of our base pairs are old virus genes. Human genes actually make up less than 2% of our total DNA, so by this measure we're 4 times more virus than human.

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rabbitprincess

Amazed to read about Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who survived the atom bomb attacks on both Hiroshima AND Nagasaki, and lived to be 93. (Not without health issues, but considering he was close to the epicentre both times, he was extremely resilient.)