The violinists thumb and other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code by sam kean little, brown. In the violinist s thumb, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life. Sam kean is the new york times bestselling author of caesars last breath, the tale of the dueling neurosurgeons, the disappearing spoon, and the violinists thumb, all of which were also named amazon top science books of the year. In the violinists thumb, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life. Jun 30, 2012 book excerpt from the violinist s thumb. The violinists thumb chapter 1 video documentary mister zhang. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code reprint edition.
Straighten your thumb, bend your thumb, change the angle of your elbow what is this all about. Apr 09, 2015 the violinists thumb chapter 1 video documentary mister zhang. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic cod. From new york times bestselling author sam kean comes incredible stories of science, history, language, and music, as to. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code in chapter, genes, freaks, dna, author sam kean draws parallels between the lives of gregor mendel and johannes friedrich miescher, who both made scientific discoveries that were truly ahead of their times. Thumb notes here are various discursions and distractions that didnt find their way into the violinists thumbnot because theyre unfun or unilluminating, but because paper is more expensive th. The violinists thumb ebook by sam kean 9780316202978. From new york times bestselling author sam kean come more incredible stories of science, history, language, and music, as told by our own dna. In the violinists thumb, he explores the wonders of the. Read the violinists thumb and other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code by sam kean available from rakuten kobo. The title refers to the musician and composer paganini, who was able to stretch and flex his fingers far more than most of us, and thus was able to perform extremely complex compositions. Meanwhile morgan and bridges were experimenting on fruit flies and genetics. Through a bit of hard science, a little history, just a touch of humour, and some fascinating anecdotes, author san kean sets out to.
Niccolo paganini, the titular violinist who wowed early19thcentury audiences with his virtuosity. Section two chapters 2 3 section two chapter 10 11 section one moving along to chapter two, the mendelists and darwinists fought over the ideas of life. For someone like me, it means simply that dna has shaped our past and will determine our future. But sometimes these tiny little tweaks to the fingers, hand and arm can feel nonsensical and wrong.
In the violinists thumb, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code by sam kean. Genes illuminate everything from jfks bronze skin it wasnt a tan to einsteins genius. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code delves into the history of genetics. The violinists thumb by sam kean little, brown and company. Aug 11, 2012 for someone like me, it means simply that dna has shaped our past and will determine our future.
The violinists thumb delivers the same humor and insightand delightful anecdotesabout dna that kean used to make the periodic table of the elements entertaining in his new york times bestselling debut the disappearing spoon. From new york times bestselling author sam kean comes more incredible stories of science, history, language, and music, as told by our own dna. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code. Sam kean begins the violinist s thumb by describing how he submitted his dna to a personal genomics company so that he could learn what his genes might say about him.
The disappearing spoon was a runnerup for the royal society of londons book of the year for 2010, and the violinists thumb and the tale of the dueling neurosurgeons were nominated for the pene. Most importantly scholars have used dna to trace the. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the violinists thumb. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code delves into the history of.
You are actually gripping the neck of the violin, which inhibits shifting, vibrato and finger movement. The violinists thumb book pima county public library. At his best, kean brings relatively obscure historical figures to lifeparticularly niccolo paganini, the titular violinist who wowed early19thcentury audiences with his virtuosity, aided by finger flexibility that may have been due to the genetic disease ehlersdanlos syndrome. The disappearing spoon was a runnerup for the royal society of londons book of the year for 2010, and the violinist s thumb and the tale of the dueling neurosurgeons were nominated for the pene. Read the violinist s thumb and other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code by sam kean available from rakuten kobo. In the violinists thumb, sam kean dissects our genetic code in a way that makes a complex and terribly important field of science meaningful to the nonscientist. The violinists thumb audiobook, written by sam kean. Sam kean understanding dna can help us understand how our bodies and, to some extent, minds work. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code by. Book summary in the disappearing spoon, bestselling author sam kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table.
The violinists thumb and millions of other books are available for instant access. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code kindle edition by kean, sam. The violinists thumb by sam kean overdrive rakuten. The violinists thumb by sam kean is a fabously told nonfiction book about genes and dna, expounding on the history, science and scientists, and varied discoveries of the make up of living beings. The violinist s thumb and other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code book. The violinists thumb is an exploration into dna, the doublehelix of life itself. The violinists thumb by sam kean from new york times bestselling author sam kean comes more incredible stories of science, history, language, and music, as told by our own dna. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code, science writer sam kean, author of the disappearing spoon.
In the violinists thumb, he explores the wonders of the magical. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Pretty much all of us know that dna is what makes us, well, us. Aug 10, 2012 in the violinists thumb, sam kean dissects our genetic code in a way that makes a complex and terribly important field of science meaningful to the nonscientist. Jul 17, 2012 a thumb on the pulse of what makes us human sam keans the violinist s thumb. The violinists thumb by sam kean 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. Key facts and plot of the violinists thumb learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. Sam kean talks about his book, the violinists thumb. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code 9780316182331 by kean, sam and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. But few of us nonscientists really understand what that means. The violinist s thumb npr coverage of the violinist s thumb. The violinist s thumb by sam kean is a fabously told nonfiction book about genes and dna, expounding on the history, science and scientists, and varied discoveries of the make up of living beings. If your thumb is curved, that can point to several potential problems.
The violinists thumb npr coverage of the violinists thumb. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code, at the 20 gaithersburg book festival in. The violinists thumb chapter 1 video documentary youtube. In addition to her active performance and recording schedule, cheeyun is a dedicated and enthusiastic educator. A thumb on the pulse of what makes us human sam keans the violinists thumb.
Sam kean is the new york times bestselling author of the tale of the dueling neurosurgeons,the disappearing spoon, and the violinists thumb, all of which were also named amazon top science books of the year. The violinist thumb is a book by sam kean that describes how dna, and heredity function. His story is just one of many enjoyable anecdotes scattered throughout the violinists thumb that all illustrate various aspects of dna and genes. Sometimes it feels like violin teachers are picky just to be picky. The violinists thumb summer reading project questions and. There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs. In the violinists thumb, he explores the wonders of th. And other lost tales of love, war and genius, as written by our genetic code. In the disappearing spoon, bestselling author sam kean unloc.
It goes into detail about base pairs, amino acids, rna, and the such to give readers an overview of the system of heredity. There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no. Most of us can accept that good posture is a good thing and that bad habits are best avoided. Sam kean begins the violinists thumb by describing how he submitted his dna to a personal genomics company so that he could learn what his genes might say about him. May 18, 20 sam kean talks about his book, the violinist s thumb. But understanding the limits of dna will also help us understand how our bodies and minds dont work. The disappearing spoon was a runnerup for the royal society of londons book of the year for 2010, and the violinists thumb and the tale of the dueling. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel. That said, i understood the latter portions of the book much better because i understood the hows and whats of dna so while complicated and frustrating at times, it was worth paying attention to. The consensus on the violin thumb is to keep it straight, touching the fingerboard somewhere next to or behind the placement of the first finger.
Last year i read sam keans other book, the disappearing spoon, and was immensely impressed that he could take a confusing subject for me chemistry and the periodic table and make it interesting, fun, and understandable. His four books, the violinists thumb, the disappearing spoon, the tale of the dueling neurosurgeons, and caesars last breath were all amazons top science book of the year. In the disappearing spoon, bestselling author sam kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table. Art historians, and specifically book historians, have found clever ways to utilize dna as wellnot the dna of authors, but of the goats, sheep, and other animals whose skins were stretched to make parchment for bibles and other illustrated books. Its a great every mans overview that is remarkably thorough in its facts, and even more fantastic in its ability to entertain. The violinists thumb and other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code book. And other lost tales of love, war, and genius, as written by our genetic code sam kean.