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Kat Arney

Herding Hemingway's Cats: Understanding how our genes work Paperback – 9 Feb. 2017

by Kat Arney (Author)

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The language of genes has become common parlance. We know they make your eyes blue, your hair curly or your nose straight. The media tells us that our genes control the risk of cancer, heart disease, alcoholism or Alzheimer's. The cost of DNA sequencing has plummeted from billions of pounds to a few hundred, and gene-based advances in medicine hold huge promise.

So we've all heard of genes, but how do they actually work?

There are 2.2 metres of DNA inside every one of your cells, encoding roughly 20,000 genes. These are the 'recipes' that tell our cells how to make the building blocks of life, along with myriad control switches ensuring they're turned on and off at the right time and in the right place. But rather than a static string of genetic code, this is a dynamic, writhing biological library. Figuring out how it all works - how your genes build your body - is a major challenge for researchers around the world. And what they're discovering is that far from genes being a fixed, deterministic blueprint, things are much more random and wobbly than anyone expected.

Drawing on stories ranging from six toed cats and stickleback hips to Mickey Mouse mice and zombie genes - told by researchers working at the cutting edge of genetics - Kat Arney explores the mysteries in our genomes with clarity, flair and wit, creating a companion reader to the book of life itself.

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Product details

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury Sigma (9 Feb. 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781472910073
ISBN-13: 978-1472910073
ASIN: 1472910079
Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 2 x 19.9 cm
Customer reviews: 66 customer ratings
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 140,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #41 in Medical Genetics
- #181 in Genetics in Popular Science
- #81 in Biochemistry (Books)

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A witty, clued-up report from the front lines of genetics ... Kat Arney unravels the intricacies of the discipline with a romp through 'thumbed' cats, hipped fish and frank interviews with scientists. (Nature)

Arney's chirpy tour through the mysteries of modern genetics is engrossing and fun ... a lively update on the phenomenal complexity of the molecular inheritance that make us us. (Stephen Curry The Guardian)

Arney's delightful book is accessible to those without a scientific background and its breezy anecdotal style makes for entertaining reading. (Mark Pagel BBC Focus)

...a gorgeously written, surprisingly gripping introduction to everything we've learned about genes since the famous Human Genome Project several years ago. (Robert Krulwich National Geographic)

A sprightly, energetic tour through the minds of those trying to understand genes. each snappy chapter is a remarkable feat of information and fascination. (Robin Ince, comedian, writer and co-presenter of The Infinite Monkey Cage and The Quest for Wonder)

Kay Arney explores the mysteries of the genome, shedding light on the complex and ever-changing world of genetics. (Science Focus)

If you want to find out for whom the cell mutates, then Herding Hemingway's Cats is for you . Kat Arney decodes the greatest works of nature, written in the language of the genes. (Roger Highfield, author, science journalist and museum executive)

A great addition to the rapidly growing field of books giving us an insight into just how complex biology is at the molecular level ... a great piece of popular science. (Brian Clegg Popular Science)

Kat is one of the world's finest science communicators and enthusiasts. Herding Hemingway's Cats will instantly turn you into the most interesting guest at any party - it's a joy to read and a masterclass in making the complex story of life accessible, entertaining and relevant. (Mark Stevenson, author of An Optimist's Tour of the Future)

Injecting personality, enthusiasm and humour into the topic, geneticist Kat Arney uses bizarre stories ... to show how genes give our cells the recipe for life. (How It Works)

Book Description

How DNA is packed, unpacked and read - a companion reader to the book of life itself.

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Customer reviews

5 star		79%
4 star		11%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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David Martin

Confidently embracing uncertainty, an inspiring though unsettling read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 August 2017

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I teach this at University level and am therefore quite interested in the subject. Dr Kat Arney takes what can be a bewildering shoal of facts, suppositions and ownright ornery obeservations and steers a confident passage through them. The style is wonderful - it brings the personal into it in a very clear way that emphasises the understanding we have at the moment is a reflections of how we interact with the observations. That molecular biology is not a molecular machine but as devious and confusing as any human activity.
I'm definitely recommending this to my students. If they are looking for 'the facts' to learn to pass the exam then thy may well be disappointed. If they want to engage with the curiosities, the uncertainties, the downright strange and be inspired to find corners to poke in for their own research then this is a book that can really set them going.
I see the scope for a few class prizes too!

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Mr. S. J. Oxley

Does what it says on the tin.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 February 2016

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Finally, an easy to understand book on genetics. Wish I'd had this at uni. It's nice to read a book from a scientist who knows how to turn a collection of difficult info into something understandable to us mere mortals.

6 people found this helpful

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rogerhusky

What a great book - a perfect Christmas present

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2016

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Herding Hemingway's Cats: Understanding how our genes work (Bloomsbury Sigma)
What a great book. Best popular science book [in the best sense of the term] around on genes and epigenetics, and I have read many. Very clear despite lack of diagrams, very up to date and very wide-ranging, especially its coverage of the latest ideas which might or might not become mainstream, gained by touring the World talking to top scientists. The author is a scientist herself who used to work in this area, and it shows (by her obvious in-depth understanding and simple explanations of sometimes complicated ideas).
Add to that a good helping of humour, and you have the perfect Christmas present for anyone with an enquiring mind.
I've not quite finished reading the Kindle edition, but the book inspired me to rush off and write this review, as it's still time to buy before Christmas.
I just hope the author is able to update the book from time-to-time, or maybe will set up a web site where she can provide updates to the book.
All this and written by a cat! Maybe that's why she understands mice so well.
(No, I don't know, nor have any connection with, the author.)

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ANTONY JOHNSON

Read this and reset your understanding of DNA and genetics

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 May 2017

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I must admit, it took me a good while longer than I'd have liked to get to the end of this book. However, I'm so glad I picked it up again.

The conclusion may make those looking for definitives feel undersold. That feeling though, results not from the book's contents but from the conclusion one might draw from that about where we are in the journey towards understanding how biology - and physics - work.

Surprising in its breadth, this book is written in a style that scientists of a puritanical nature may not enjoy. I, as an engineer, found it just right despite an initial personal struggle with a slippery sensation of intangibility. I got over that.

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Keith G

Highly rated goes into some great detail and explains how our genes work without being boring

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 February 2016

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A really good book very well researched and written. I struggled in parts to follow some of the scientific studies and findings then the writer skillfully gave some analogies that explained more about the connections with DNA and every day life. For any scientific buffs who want a understanding of DNA this is definitely a book that would not disappoint. My interest was at best basic but I learned so much that I did not know and it certainly explained a lot about evolution of human beings. I will need to read this book several times to understand more about our genes and DNA and I will look forward to that. I would rate this book amongst the best books I have ever read even though I could only manage a chapter a day because it gave me so much to think about. The writer Kat Arney comes across as a very nice friendly person.

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Marios Stavridis

Exclellent, readable, current, thought provoking

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 September 2017

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This came highly recommended from a colleague and it does not dissapoint. The author's eadybto follow style and language make really hard, cutting-edge discoveries easy to understand and follow. The book covers what in the trade is known as "gene regulation" in its broadest sense.
I would strongly recommend this to anyone who wants to understand what's going on in biological sciences right now, from the curious lay person all the way to the geneticist looking for a fresh view on the field. Particularly recommended to biology undergraduates - on the topics it covers it beats most textbooks for clarity.

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jonahwell

Great overview of the messy world of gene

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2016

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A great anecdotal walk through some of the strange quirks of how genes work. Kat Arney feels like an agent for normal people in the elite world of molecular biology; her conversational tone gives an excellent, thorough and palatable tour through the complications of DNA, genes and inheritance.

I will now take some of the articles about revolutionary genetic discoveries that I read in popular science magazines with a pinch of salt!

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Mr Stuff

catch Kat's cats.. you herd it here first.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 January 2016

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Really interesting look at the emerging understanding of epigenetics and the 'stuff' around the dna in cells is incerasingly being seen as having important infulence on how the DNA is used and how genes are switched on and off.

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mjc1436

Read this book

Reviewed in Canada on 3 November 2016

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Great journey through the cutting edge world of genetics and how genes pass on traits. Book is neither a heavy unreadable academic tome nor an over simplified beginners book.It has serious science and you get to meet the people doing groundbreaking work in the huge field of genetics around the world. The author's lively and inquiring personality jumps of the page. A challenging and fun read. As a bonus the footnotes and bibliography are brilliant and a pathway to further reading in the are

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Literature Master

WOW

Reviewed in India on 13 March 2019

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Aha

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Five Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 3 September 2017

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Great book. It really gave me what I was looking for with a fantastic narrative.

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bgsbog

Herding Hemingway's Cats: the perfect primer in genetics for a novice and a fun read for an expert

Reviewed in the United States on 25 November 2016

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I found Hemingway's Cats to have a refreshing take on some well-covered topics; of course, it also taught me some new things and discussed the most recent research. Thus, I recommend this book as an excellent introduction to genetics as it would be suitable for people with little knowledge of science, but it would also be great for someone who knows the field and wants to expand or refresh their knowledge.

Arney also hits new and hot topics, like epigenetics/epigenomics, imprinting, CRISPR, and the ever-expanding list of RNAs. In addition, she hits some of the "wow science" one would expect from a popular science book. Want to know more? [...]

7 people found this helpful

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Roy J. O'Kelly

Loved the spaghetti analogy

Reviewed in the United States on 6 September 2016

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Excellent book. Ideal for someone with a basic scientific background who is not working in genetics and wants to be brought up to date on our current understanding of the topic. Other reviewers have mentioned that it is bright, witty, and engaging. It is. The writing style makes the hours spent developing an understanding of the topic far more enjoyable than reading the scientific papers and text books from which this kind of understanding must normally be extracted. The study of DNA and RNA has advanced rapidly over the last decade. Information more than a couple of years old is dubious and the language of microbiology is something only a mother could love. Kat provides an easy to understand account of where we are today and perhaps most importantly the limits of what we know, which you might find surprising. That broad overview is frequently brought to light through first hand conversations with leading researchers. I’ve been studying genetics recently and feel that I got a more cohesive overview from this book than I did from the previous 6 months of plowing through traditional resources.
If you want to know more about the spaghetti analogy you'll need to read the book :).

5 people found this helpful

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RedAnt

POV of a university research computing staff member looking to better understand this field.

Reviewed in the United States on 2 February 2017

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This book was exactly what I was looking for to cleanse me of my ignorance. To my surprise I found it to be a real page turner, far from the sleep inducing tomb I expected. Having just finished the book you might ask if I feel less ignorant. Truthfully I can answer that I am a lot more comfortable with the subject than when I started. The terms are many and complex, but like a foreign language I have some hearing comprehension even if I lack the ability to effectively speak it. This is a very well written book. I expect to retain a bit more on a future reread. In the end I still retain significant ignorance, but I now understand that I am not alone.

4 people found this helpful

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ScienceReadingGal

Truly exceptional and informed book exploring the frontiers of how our genes actually work, very highly recommended!

Reviewed in the United States on 22 January 2018

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There are not enough stars on Amazon to reflect how much I adore this outstanding book. When I ordered it I first thought, "Well here I am sacrificing several delectable cafe lattes for yet another boring book on genetics," but boy was I wrong. Instead of rehashing common material it focuses intensely on the ultra-complex and fascinating world of gene expression, an area of growing interest and discovery. Somehow she manages to convey complicated biology (and the conceptual debates raging therein) without jargon or those sentences you need to re-read like ten times before they sink in. In fact every paragraph is a delight to read, with prose rich with fun metaphors and breezy tidbits. There is simply no other book on the market that illuminates this murky yet critical area of biology so well and with such flair. Five hundred thousand stars for this one.

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Mauricio J. Motles

Wonderful and recommended book...poor title !

Reviewed in the United States on 1 May 2018

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I liked very much this book because it gives the lay reader an overview of how the genes work quite updated !. We discover that the simple, clear and nice mechanisms we learned at school about genetics, DNA , RNA and protein, are really that : simple sketches. Life workings are very much complicated and interesting.
I did not like the title. I must confess that prior to reading the book, I did not know what Hemingway's cats were. Even though they might be interesting, the book is much, much more than that.

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mixed bag

Reviewed in the United States on 31 January 2020

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3 stars
+ decent information on the subject
+ for showing scientists are just like dentists or mechanics, regular people with biases
- 1 for preaching and sermons
- 1 for occasional language or examples drawn from your local bar

dunno how these organizations could endorse it with this language. was surprised

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H. A. Scarbro

What you think you know about genetics that is all wrong

Reviewed in the United States on 4 February 2016

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A witty and insightful review of our knowledge of genetics and our lack thereof. Kat Arney, a former genetics researcher herself, interviews Nobel Prize winners and other prominent researchers to bring us the latest in genetics "straight from the horse's mouth.". Each chapter is an interview with some prominent researcher who has some unique finding in the field. The general aim of the book, it seems to me, is to correct widespread misunderstandings, such as the genotype determines the phenotype.

If you are interested in genetics, read this book. You are in for a treat.

14 people found this helpful

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laura

Good book to brush up on your genetics knowledge!

Reviewed in the United States on 27 May 2019

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If you haven't taken a biology class in a while and are interested in genetics, I recommend this book. A lot has changed in the field in the past decade. The book reads easy and you don't need a scientific background to follow.

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Rebecca

This book has great science metaphors and is incredibly approachable for non-scientists while ...

Reviewed in the United States on 23 January 2017

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This book has great science metaphors and is incredibly approachable for non-scientists while being entertaining for those of us who are familiar with the basics of genetics.

2 people found this helpful

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Steve Ferraro

Really shows how complicated genetics is

Reviewed in the United States on 14 February 2017

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A very good job of taking a very very complicated process and making it understandable and entertaining. I highly recommend it

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GoodListener

I listen to a lot of non-fiction, mostly science ...

Reviewed in the United States on 3 October 2016

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I listen to a lot of non-fiction, mostly science books and this one was witty and chock full of information. The traveling interview format drove the storyline/progression well. Thanks Kat!

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Amazon Customer

Interesting and well-written

Reviewed in the United States on 2 December 2016

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An excellent survey of modern genetics.

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