{{Short description|2021 book by Walter Isaacson}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox book | name = The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race | image = The Code Breaker (Walter Isaacson).png | alt = | caption = First edition cover | author = Walter Isaacson | country = United States | language = English | subject = {{hlist|Jennifer Doudna|CRISPR gene editing}} | genre = {{hlist|Biography|science}} | publisher = Simon & Schuster | pub_date = March 9, 2021 | media_type = Print (hardcover), e-book, audiobook | pages = 560 | isbn = 978-1-9821-1585-2 | isbn_note = (hardcover) | oclc = 1187220557 | dewey = 576.5 | congress = QH440 .I83 2021 | preceded_by = Leonardo da Vinci }} '''''The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race''''' is a non-fiction book authored by American historian and journalist Walter Isaacson. Published in March 2021 by Simon & Schuster, it is a biography of Jennifer Doudna, the winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on the CRISPR system of gene editing.<ref>{{Cite web <!-- Citation bot bypass--> |title=The Code Breaker |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Code-Breaker/Walter-Isaacson/9781982115852 |access-date=March 18, 2021 |website=Simon & Schuster}}</ref>
==Promotion== On March 22, 2021, Isaacson appeared on ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' to discuss the book.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Robert Downey Jr./Walter Isaacson/Sebastián Yatra/Guaynaa |series=The Late Show with Stephen Colbert |series-link=The Late Show with Stephen Colbert |network=CBS |date=March 22, 2021 |number=1061}}</ref>
==Reception== The book debuted at number one on ''The New York Times'' nonfiction best-seller list for the week ending March 13, 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction - Best Sellers |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2021/03/28/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/ |access-date=March 18, 2021 |archive-date=March 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331154721/https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2021/03/28/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In its starred review, ''Kirkus Reviews'' called it a "vital book about the next big thing in science—and yet another top-notch biography from Isaacson."<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 6, 2021 |title=The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/walter-isaacson/the-code-breaker-isaacson/ |access-date=March 18, 2021 |website=Kirkus Reviews |archive-date=March 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310183109/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/walter-isaacson/the-code-breaker-isaacson/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
''Publishers Weekly'' called it a "gripping account of a great scientific advancement and of the dedicated scientists who realized it."<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 26, 2021 |title=Nonfiction Book Review: The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-9821-1585-2 |access-date=March 18, 2021 |website=Publishers Weekly |archive-date=February 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212185100/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-9821-1585-2 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Code-Breaker/Walter-Isaacson/9781982115852 The Code Breaker] at the Simon & Schuster website *[https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/03/08/974751834/crispr-scientists-biography-explores-ethics-of-rewriting-the-code-of-life CRISPR Scientist's Biography Explores Ethics Of Rewriting The Code Of Life]. Author interview, audio and transcript. Fresh Air, NPR, March 8, 2021.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race, The}} Category:2021 non-fiction books Category:English-language non-fiction books Category:Books about scientists Category:Jennifer Doudna Category:Simon & Schuster books Category:American biographies Category:Genetics books Category:Genome editing Category:Books by Walter Isaacson
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