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A review by branch_c
Life's Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive by Carl Zimmer
3.0
Zimmer continues to be one of the best science writers I know of, but this won’t be one of my favorites of his. The writing is admirable, and the concept is certainly interesting, but I’m afraid there’s only so much to say on this topic with the information we have now - or possibly will ever have.
There are absolutely some exceptional moments: I was particularly captivated by the revelation that slime molds could be “trained” to find the shortest path through a maze (p. 82 - 85) and I was fascinated to learn about the existence of the Amazon molly, an all female species of fish that reproduces only by mating with males of one of two other species, while still giving birth to only females identical to itself (p. 214 -215). But there’s less of this kind of intriguing info here than in my favorite books by Zimmer ([b:Microcosm|6621581|Microcosm E. Coli and the New Science of Life|Carl Zimmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320514707l/6621581._SY75_.jpg|2056731], and [b:She Has Her Mother's Laugh|36391536|She Has Her Mother's Laugh The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity|Carl Zimmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1511221974l/36391536._SY75_.jpg|58083603]).
Also, part three of the book, “A Series of Dark Questions”, is a “history of science” section that evokes the style of my least favorite Zimmer book, [b:Soul Made Flesh|213113|Soul Made Flesh The Discovery of the Brain--and How it Changed the World|Carl Zimmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441657292l/213113._SY75_.jpg|1231].
Of all the perspectives in this book on the question of life vs. non-life, I’m most inclined to agree with the analogy with Wittgenstein’s discussion of how to define a game. Similarly, the definition of life is not straightforward, given the existence of edge cases like viruses and mitochondria. The conclusion that “Rather than come up with a rigid list of required traits, they might be able to find family resemblances that could naturally join things together in a category we could call Life” (p. 274). I’m also sympathetic to Carol Cleland’s position that “there’s no point in searching for a definition of life” (p. 275). It’s a matter of semantics, and it’s ultimately not necessary for doing science.
Anyway, you generally can’t go wrong with a Carl Zimmer book, so I’m sure many readers will find something to enjoy here; for me, it doesn’t rise to the level of his best work.
There are absolutely some exceptional moments: I was particularly captivated by the revelation that slime molds could be “trained” to find the shortest path through a maze (p. 82 - 85) and I was fascinated to learn about the existence of the Amazon molly, an all female species of fish that reproduces only by mating with males of one of two other species, while still giving birth to only females identical to itself (p. 214 -215). But there’s less of this kind of intriguing info here than in my favorite books by Zimmer ([b:Microcosm|6621581|Microcosm E. Coli and the New Science of Life|Carl Zimmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320514707l/6621581._SY75_.jpg|2056731], and [b:She Has Her Mother's Laugh|36391536|She Has Her Mother's Laugh The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity|Carl Zimmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1511221974l/36391536._SY75_.jpg|58083603]).
Also, part three of the book, “A Series of Dark Questions”, is a “history of science” section that evokes the style of my least favorite Zimmer book, [b:Soul Made Flesh|213113|Soul Made Flesh The Discovery of the Brain--and How it Changed the World|Carl Zimmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441657292l/213113._SY75_.jpg|1231].
Of all the perspectives in this book on the question of life vs. non-life, I’m most inclined to agree with the analogy with Wittgenstein’s discussion of how to define a game. Similarly, the definition of life is not straightforward, given the existence of edge cases like viruses and mitochondria. The conclusion that “Rather than come up with a rigid list of required traits, they might be able to find family resemblances that could naturally join things together in a category we could call Life” (p. 274). I’m also sympathetic to Carol Cleland’s position that “there’s no point in searching for a definition of life” (p. 275). It’s a matter of semantics, and it’s ultimately not necessary for doing science.
Anyway, you generally can’t go wrong with a Carl Zimmer book, so I’m sure many readers will find something to enjoy here; for me, it doesn’t rise to the level of his best work.