Borin Van Loon: DNA for Beginners

DNA for Beginners

Writers & Readers Publishing Inc., USA (ISBN 086316023) 1983; Republished (ISBN 0863160239) 1984

Written by Israel Rosenfield & Ed Ziff, llustrated / designed by Borin Van Loon

This title differs from all others in this style of documentary comic books. It was published only in the USA and copies were shipped around the world, its birth pangs extended over fouteen months and its publishing history was chequered, to say the least. On the plus side, it had the benefit of being one of the first really accessible introductions to the sometimes baffling world of DNA. Garnering excellent reviews at the time of publication, this led to the long-held desire by readers-in-the-know to see it updated. Now it will be! Watch this space.
DNA Zap!

-Crick and Watson experience that flash of inspiration on the discovery of the double helix
A sample page from DNA for Beginners showing a lunar module-likevirus landing on a bacteria- DNA Virus landing

Reviews
[There were many press reviews of the book published in the early 80s. We'll try to include one or two here soon.]

>Two illustrated guides to genetics were first published in 1983: Gonick and Wheelis's 'Cartoon guide to genetics' and 'DNA for beginners'. The former generally used cartoons to provide humour while the latter made excellent use of the comic strip format to explain complex science. If you find a copy of this rare book, buy it. Don't confuse this title with one from the same stable called 'Genetics for beginners': 'DNA' is far better and focuses specifically on the double helix story and the early work on the genetic code, gene function and genetic modification which followed. The level of technical detail conveyed is impressive, although it usually proved too much for my A-Level students.
Copyright © National Centre for Biotechnology Education, 2006 | www.ncbe.reading.ac.uk
http://www.ncbe.reading.ac.uk/DNA50/reviews.html

>DNA for Beginners is simply the best introduction to genetics you can buy. Sylvester and Klotz write in The Gene Age that molecular biologists "stand out among scientists as intensely visual, as imaginative rather than analytic." DNA for Beginners puts this visual imagination into pictures. And what pictures they are! Borin Van Loon's clever and exhaustive illustrations should be the required text for anyone who wants to design educational graphics.
A documentary comic book from the prolific Writers' and Readers' Publishing Cooperative. DNA for Beginners succeeds better than similar introductions from the same publisher such as Marx for Beginners or Freud for Beginners, which deal with less visual subjects. Although titled a "comic book," DNA for Beginners should not be confused with science-inspired pulp serials such as "DNA gents" (which details the adventures of a handful of artificial people created by a giant corporation to do its dirty work.) Thoroughly researched, simply written, beautifully laid out, DNA for Beginners is in fact more serious than most popular science writing. With Van Loon's magnificent drawings to grab the reader's attention, the text can remain simple and straightforward and avoid the eye-catching exaggeration all too common in science journalism. Authors Rosenfield [and Ziff] provide precision with an English brevity of expression.
But it is Van Loon's versatility and imagination as an illustrator which makes DNA for Beginners so entertaining and understandable. The range of his models is extraordinary. He draws on Auguste Rodin's Thinker, Andy Warhol's soup cans, Thomas Nast's cartoons of Victorian social commentary, and dozens of other artists' works. Caricatures, engravings, photographs, and a diagrams are all intermingled without ever clashing. Gregor Mendel's famous pea plants, study of which led to the discovery of genes, show up as Jolly Green Giants.
Even the scientists are portrayed with an astonishing diversity of styles; at different times Van Loon pictures Francis Crick and James Watson, discoverers of the double helix structure of DNA, as Bat[man and Robin and other fictional characters]. In addition, the comic book format is the only one in which the arcane and often ridiculous jargon of molecular biology makes sense.
... Even the most sparkling writing could never explain molecular genetics without a good set of pictures; DNA for Beginners is thus far better for anyone interested in genetics out of pure curiosity.
(http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=200950) [This review has some typos and omissions in its web version: indicated by square brackets.]
'The Harvard Crimson' review (no writer credited, sadly). 23.1.1984

>If you want to understand how DNA works and proteins are made and implications of biotechnology to society then this book can explain complex terms such that an idot can understand it. I have been interested in biotechnology and how it works. I would rate this book on the top of my list.

>Recomended for any student of Biological sciences. During my first degree (Biochemistry & Mol. Biology), this was one of the best and most user-friendly of textbooks. Placed next to Stryer and Voet & Voet. Though still relevant, it is begining to date and I would encourage the authors do a revised edition covering the past twenty years.

>Can be understood by nonscientists. This book is best appreciated by aspiring biologist. Book lacks most current information concerning genetics, i.e. Gene Cloning and the Human Genome Project. Overall is an outstanding easy read that accurately covers many important concepts in genetics. (4 and a half stars)
(All three reviews above from http://www.fetchbook.info)

Borin Van Loon's DNA mural

Darwin...
Genetics...
Buddha...
Eastern Philosophy...
Sociology
Cultural Studies...
Mathematics...
Media Studies...
Critical Theory...
Science...
Psychotherapy...
Hinduism