Alfonso Martinez Arias is ICREA Research Professor in the department of systems bioengineering of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. The recipient of numerous awards, he is co-author of the biology textbook Principles of Development, which was awarded the Royal Society of Biology book prize. He lives in Barcelona, Spain.
A timely, important and compelling case for why an understanding of
living organisms must start with the cell. He offers a vision of
life that shows it to be much more interesting and ingenious than
any simplistic notion of genetic blueprints can provide
*Philip Ball, author of CRITICAL MASS and THE BOOK OF MINDS*
This book makes a new and stunning argument, not so much that we
should put DNA in its place, but that we can see the grandeur of
life as it truly is
*Azra Raza, author of THE FIRST CELL*
What came first, the chicken or the egg? In The Master Builder,
Alfonso Martinez Arias poses a different question: what drives
biology, genes or cells? His surprising answer shines new light on
the fascinating riddle of development and offers a majestic
cells-eye view of life itself
*Lee Billings, author of FIVE BILLION YEARS OF SOLITUDE*
In this masterful account, geneticist and developmental biologist
Alfonso Martinez Arias shows that, on its own, DNA is powerless,
inert . . . This cell's-eye view of life is powerful and striking,
helping to reveal why DNA is not the ultimate determinant of
ourselves . . . This clearly explained, beautiful book will change
how you think about DNA, about how you came to be, and about life
itself
*Matthew Cobb, author of AS GODS*
An ingenious argument . . . A rich, detailed exploration of the
vitality of cells
*Kirkus Reviews*
Alfonso Martinez Arias's novel thesis invigorates, and the lucid
scientific discussions will hold readers' attention even through
involved examinations of how cells respond to specific proteins.
This is the perfect complement to Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Song
of the Cell
*Publishers Weekly, starred review*
[A] revolutionary book on cell biology
*Nature*
Provocative . . . timely and needed. Highlights of the book include
the many fascinating historical and evolutionary perspectives
presented and Martinez Arias's discussion of key experiments
*Science Magazine*
Fascinating and provocative
*El Pais*
Martinez Arias, a developmental biologist, has lived and breathed
the cell's struggle to be heard over a career spanning 40-odd
years. His story is one of DNA elites against hardworking,
blue-collar cells. Cells, not DNA, Martinez Arias points out,
determine the ripples of our fingerprints and the texture of our
irises
*New York Times*
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