''The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race'' is a non-fiction book authored by American historian and journalist Walter Isaacson. Published in March 2021 by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pub ...

, it is a biography of Jennifer Doudna, the winner of the 2020

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

for her work on the

CRISPR CRISPR () (an acronym for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a family of DNA sequences found in the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria and archaea. These sequences are derived from DNA fragments of bac ...

system of gene editing. The book debuted at number one on ''The New York Times'' nonfiction best-seller list for the week ending March 13, 2021.

Promotion

On March 22, 2021, Isaacson appeared on '' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' to discuss the book.

Reception

In its

starred review A starred review is a book review __NOTOC__ A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piec ...

, '' Kirkus Reviews'' called it a "vital book about the next big thing in science—and yet another top-notch biography from Isaacson." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' called it a "gripping account of a great scientific advancement and of the dedicated scientists who realized it."

References

External links

The Code Breaker
at the

website
CRISPR Scientist's Biography Explores Ethics Of Rewriting The Code Of Life
Author interview, audio and transcript.

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated t ...

, NPR, March 8, 2021. 2021 non-fiction books Books about scientists Jennifer Doudna Simon & Schuster books American biographies Genetics books Genome editing {{Science-bio-book-stub