Book Name : A Brief History of Creation
Author : Bill Mesler and H. James Cleaves
What is it about? : One of the most enduring mysteries of science has been the origin of life. How did it all began? What was the first organism to appear? What differentiates living from non living? Where is the boundary that separates the two? These are some of the questions mankind's best mind have been trying to answer for a long time. In this book the authors, Bill Mesler and James Cleaves trace the history of the ideas/concepts about the origin of life and the people behind them.
How I came to read it : For the first time since years I was in a position where I had not read a book in 3 months. This was the longest gap in years for me. This was largely because of some change in jobs and some moving around. Eventually though I couldn't hold up any longer and I went to the nearest Indigo branch and headed straight for the sale section. This was one of the only two science paperbacks on sale and I got this immediately.
How I came to read it : For the first time since years I was in a position where I had not read a book in 3 months. This was the longest gap in years for me. This was largely because of some change in jobs and some moving around. Eventually though I couldn't hold up any longer and I went to the nearest Indigo branch and headed straight for the sale section. This was one of the only two science paperbacks on sale and I got this immediately.
Did I like it? : Loved it! This book made me question why I had not started reading science books much earlier in life. No fiction can match the thrill of the stories of the brilliant minds of science.
Coming to the book itself, it starts off the history from the time of Anaximander and Aristotle. The spontaneous generation theory supported by Aristotle was something that was in vogue for the next few hundred years. Then came Van Leeuwenhoek whose mind blowing work with microscopes opened up a new understanding of the tiny creatures around us. This way, the book slowly moves on from on one major advancement to another, from one scientist to another all the while keeping in mind the big question of when and how life originated. Some of the amazing scientists include Voltaire, Andrew Crosse, Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur, JBS Haldane, Stanley Miller, Sidney Fox, Crick and Watson.
One of the most exciting parts of the books is the anticipation of which scientist is going to turn up next. People you don't expect to turn up in a book about origin of life turn up at the most unexpected times. That was by far my best experience about this book. Also, being a energy professional myself the appearance of electricity piqued my interest. Mary Shelley, the creator of Frankenstein makes an appearance in this section. During the early days of electricity people tended to believe that electricity had life giving properties. Mary's inspiration for Frankenstein was no different. It was a result of the intense debate and discussion going around electricity at that time. She was largely inspired by experiments of Andrew Crosse and Luigi Galvani. Galvani's experiment where he accidentally observed the twitching of a frog leg by electricity became hugely famous. Fun fact: the English word 'Galvanize' meaning 'to stimulate' or 'to bring to life' originated from Galvani's famous experiment.
Slowly, as the narrative progresses, it narrows down to biology and medicine focusing on Watson, Crick and Rosalind Franklin who discovered the shape of DNA, a landmark achievement in understanding the origin of life. The book spans from the time of the Greeks to the late 1990s. A tremendous tour of the inspiring journey of humankind's quest for an answer to the, some say, ultimate question of science, how did life originate? Thrilling and inspiring I enjoyed every bit of this book. Best 4 bucks ever!
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