Name: Woolly
ISBN: 9781501135552

Ben Mezrich

Subtitle in pre-publication: The true story of the de-extinction of one of history's most iconic creatures.

The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History’s Most Iconic Extinct Creatures

Woolly

Wynter

A great overview of what's been happening in the mammoth restoration project. Is there a satisfying conclusion? Or course not, unless I missed that mammoth herd from the latest Discovery Channel documentary. This is a work in progress - a tediously complicated task of figuring out how to bring back an animal that's been extinct for thousands of years, and whose DNA is not readily available to the science to play with. This is not a cloning project per se, but a reconstruction effort - a reverse engineering, an invention of the wheel lost to time. It's truly fascinating. 

If you are considering picking up this book for yourself, please consider what your expectations are. More than anything Woolly is true to it's tagline: "the Quest to Revive". Therefore you will learn more about the scientists involved and hurdles they go through every day, instead of getting to the nitty-gritty descriptions of genetic manipulations. Woolly is a story of humans working on mammoths, not a biology class on the extinct animal. You will not learn a lot of actual science, but you will understand what challenges are being faced and what creative solutions are being used. The author uses quite a literary style for his nonfiction, which might throw some people off, but I enjoyed seeing the relatable side of the top scientists that might come off unapproachable otherwise. 

And just for fun, perhaps we are getting closer to getting that pesky DNA: Controversial T. Rex Soft Tissue Find Finally Explained [Live Science]

Morgan Holland

Great quick overview of revive and restore’s mammoth project

Fun weekend read with great characters in Church and Brand. Looking forward to seeing how all this work plays out in my lifetime.

It was a great book. I'm curious as to why it has gotten a mid rating. I think that you have to be into genetics and into prehistoric animals to truly love this.

And not that the book is dry, but you definitely delve into the process of genetic research and what happens while they're doing it.

So if you're going to have issues reading about celle and DNA and RNA and things like that, I think you may not like it. Otherwise it's great for what it is!

Woolly The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History’s Most Iconic Extinct Creatures

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