Genes & Genomes

Mill Valley, CA: University Science Books, 1991. First edition, first printing.

1991 MAGNUM OPUS OF BIOCHEMIST PAUL BERG, "FATHER OF GENETIC ENGINEERING" AND NOBEL LAUREATE--INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY HIM.

First edition, first printing. 11 inches tall hardcover, green cloth binding, gilt title to cover and spine, inscribed front free endpaper, "For Peter, wIthout whose intelligence, help and friendship this book would not have been published. All the best, Paul." i-xviii, 929 pp, illustrated throughout. Fine in a very good jacket with edge tears in protective mylar sleeve.

PAUL BERG (1926-2023) was an American biochemist and professor at Stanford University. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980, along with Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger. The award recognized their contributions to basic research involving nucleic acids, especially recombinant DNA. Berg was also tenured as a research fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge. He was a professor at Washington University School of Medicine from 1955 until 1959. After 1959, Berg moved to Stanford University, where he taught biochemistry from 1959 until 2000 and served as director of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine from 1985 until 2000. In 2000 he retired from his administrative and teaching posts, continuing to be active in research. Berg is arguably most famous for his pioneering work involving gene splicing of recombinant DNA. Berg was the first scientist to create a molecule containing DNA from two different species by inserting DNA from another species into a molecule. This gene-splicing technique was a fundamental step in the development of modern genetic engineering. His obituary was published in March 2023 issues of Nature ("Biochemist who invented recombinant DNA technology") and Science ("Father of genetic engineering").

MAXINE SINGER (Born 1931) is an American molecular biologist and science administrator. She is known for her contributions to solving the genetic code, her role in the ethical and regulatory debates on recombinant DNA techniques (including the organization of the Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA), and her leadership of Carnegie Institution of Washington. Singer has written over 100 scientific papers, and has also published several books with co-author Paul Berg intended to help the public have a better understanding of molecular genetics, including Genes and Genomes, offered here.