After Dolly: The Uses and Misuses of Human Cloning

In 1997 the world was surprised to learn that scientists had cloned the first mammal, a sheep named Dolly. The lead scientist for the project, carried out at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, was Ian Wilmut, who in this engrossing book tells how he and his colleagues made their breakthrough. Many people were excited about the potential medical advances that cloning presented; others were convinced it was a step toward eugenics and human cloning. Wilmut, assisted by Highfield, science editor of Britain's Daily Telegraph , argues passionately that cloning will revolutionize medicine and—perhaps a little too optimistically after the South Korean cloning scandal—that scientists can be relied on to behave. He explains why a blastocyst, the 200 cells present a few days after fertilization, is not an embryo and should be permitted in medical research. But Wilmut opposes the use of genetic enhancement to create "designer babies." The author is a bit defensive at times, but he explains his positions clearly so readers on both sides of this contentious issue will be able to re-examine and clarify their own convictions. 20 b&w illus. (June 12)