Review : New facts of life

Altered Fates: Gene Therapy and the Retooling of Human Life (Norton,
£11.95, ISBN 0 393 31528 2) by Pulitzer prizewinners Jeff Lyon and Peter
Gorner has numerous competitors, but is unbeatable for its clarity and verve.
Accessible to all, this is a vivid portrayal of the science, as well as the
scientists, patients and families in the centre of the emerging craft of
identifying, repairing and replacing faulty human genes.