马特・里德利过去是《经济学家》的科技编辑、驻华盛顿记者和美国地区编辑。他是《红色皇后：性与人类本性的进化》、《美德的起源：人类本能与合作的进化》，和《借助于后天培养的自然力量：基因、经历以及造就了我们人类的一切》的作者，现居英国。

译者简介

刘菁，毕业于北京大学生物系，在美国加州理工学院取得生物学博士学位，现在美国斯坦福大学从事博士后研究工作。

The most important investigation of genetic science since The Selfish Gene, from the author of the critically acclaimed and best-selling The Red Queen and The Origins of Virtue. The genome is our 100,000 or so genes. The genome is the collective recipe for the building and running of the human body. These 100,000 genes are sited across 23 pairs of chromosomes. Genome, a book of about 100,000 words, is divided into 23 chapters, a chapter for each chromosome. The first chromosome, for example, contains our oldest genes, genes which we have in common with plants. By looking at our genes we can see the story of our evolution, what makes us individual, how our sexuality is determined, how we acquire language, why we are vunerable to certain diseases, how mind has arisen. Genome also argues for the genetic foundations of free will. While many believe that genetics proves biological determinism, Ridley will show that in fact free will is itself in the genes. Everything that makes us human can be read in our genes. Early in the next century we will have determined the function of every one of these 100,000 genes.