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The Tangled Tree

A Radical New History of Life

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The Tangled Tree

Written by: David Quammen
Narrated by: Jacques Roy
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About this listen

 In this New York Times bestseller and longlist nominee for the National Book Award, “our greatest living chronicler of the natural world” (The New York Times), David Quammen explains how recent discoveries in molecular biology affect our understanding of evolution and life’s history.

In the mid-1970s, scientists began using DNA sequences to reexamine the history of all life. Perhaps the most startling discovery to come out of this new field—the study of life’s diversity and relatedness at the molecular level—is horizontal gene transfer (HGT), or the movement of genes across species lines. It turns out that HGT has been widespread and important; we now know that roughly eight percent of the human genome arrived sideways by viral infection—a type of HGT.

In The Tangled Tree, “the grandest tale in biology….David Quammen presents the science—and the scientists involved—with patience, candor, and flair” (Nature). We learn about the major players, such as Carl Woese, the most important little-known biologist of the twentieth century; Lynn Margulis, the notorious maverick whose wild ideas about “mosaic” creatures proved to be true; and Tsutomu Wantanabe, who discovered that the scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a direct result of horizontal gene transfer, bringing the deep study of genome histories to bear on a global crisis in public health.

“David Quammen proves to be an immensely well-informed guide to a complex story” (The Wall Street Journal). In The Tangled Tree, he explains how molecular studies of evolution have brought startling recognitions about the tangled tree of life—including where we humans fit upon it. Thanks to new technologies, we now have the ability to alter even our genetic composition—through sideways insertions, as nature has long been doing. “The Tangled Tree is a source of wonder….Quammen has written a deep and daring intellectual adventure” (The Boston Globe). Biological Sciences Science Witty Heartfelt Natural History Genetic Disease Bacteria Paleontology Discovery Evolutionary Biology
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I'm a physics and chemistry guy. My favourite books are about the history of nuclear physics and, to be honest, I was not expecting to be entertained by this book. however, Quammen does such a good job of making the story enthralling. There were moments when I laughed at loud, like Woese getting thrown in the bushes. there were moments when I was at the edge of my seat like the discovery of extremophiles.

My only criticism is that the book doesn't go into deep enough detail about the origin of life. the author does a great job of explaining many of the biochemistry concepts but he really shines when he talks about the human story. I wish there was a deeper explanation of the biochemistry of early life. How did an RNA world evolve into using proteins? How the heck did transcription.amd translation come about???

Overall, my curiosity is tickling from this book. it deserves credit for entertaining me and putting me on the path towards biology.

This book got me into biology

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Overall very disappointing. Interesting subject matter was eclipsed by an overbearing interest in the personal lives of the scientists behind the science. This book deserves Biographer status and has minimal scientific content.

More biography than science.

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