The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race, written by historian and journalist Walter Isaacson, is a profile of 2020 Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and an overview of the frontiers of genetic editing. Published in 2021, The Code Breaker was one of the year’s most anticipated nonfiction titles in science, debuting at number one on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list. The book was especially relevant given its exploration of the role of gene-editing technologies like CRISPR in fighting viral pandemics like COVID-19. A former editor of Time, Isaacson also wrote the best-selling biography Steve Jobs (2011).

This guide follows the 2021 edition from Simon and Schuster, UK.

Plot Summary

The Code Breaker is an account of the science of genetic editing, beginning with the discovery of the concepts of evolution and heredity. It primarily focuses on Jennifer Doudna, who received the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with French microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier for their work on the gene-editing tool CRISPR. Though Doudna is the book’s focus, Isaacson also pays tribute to the numerous other scientists who made her work possible. CRISPR has tremendous potential as a tool that can cure disease, but the ethics of making gene-editing available in the free market should be carefully considered.