Book Description | Full of fascinating and bizarre cases of genetic mutation and irregularity, `Mutants' is an amazing exploration of the human form in all its beautiful and unique guises. Why are most of us born with one nose, two legs, ten fingers and twenty-four ribs - and some of us not? Why do most of us stop growing in our teens - while others just keep going? Why do some us have heads of red hair - and others no hair at all? The human genome, we are told, makes us what we are. But how? Armand Marie Leroi takes us to the extremes of human mutation - from the grotesque to the beautiful, and often both at the same time - to explain how we become what we are. Through the tales of long-lived Croatian dwarves, ostrich-footed Wadoma tribesmen, sex-changing French convent girls, and many more wonders of human development, Leroi has written a brilliant narrative account of our genetic grammar and people whose bodies have revealed it. |
Editorial Review | `Armand Leroi combines meticulous historical research, brand-new genetic understanding and consummate skill with words to tell an absorbing tale.' Matt Ridley, author of `Genome' and `Nature Via Nurture' `Erudite, gracefully crafted...Enriching his observations and insights with examples drawn from science, medicine, history, philosophy and the arts, Leroi lifts us to a profound sense of wonder.' Sunday Times `Poetic, philosophical, profound, witty and challenging.' Guardian `"Mutants" thrills and repels and informs us of the delicacy and wonder of growth and development. It is written with great grace.' Richard Fortey, author of `The Earth' `Leroi writes beautifully, charging his case histories with drama and pathos.' Time Out `Dr Leroi's book is genuinely instructive and enlightening, a brilliant admixture of curious historical anecdote and up-to-date science, written in excellent and often elegant prose.' Spectator |