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Nature 449, 785-786 (18 October 2007) | doi:10.1038/449785a; Published online 17 October 2007

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A life worth writing about

Jan Witkowski1

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Craig Venter's autobiography recounts the conflict and controversy that have contributed to his celebrity.

BOOK REVIEWEDA Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life

by Craig Venter

Allen Lane/Viking: 2007. 400 pp. £25/$25.95

Reviewing Jim Watson's The Double Helix, Erwin Chargaff dismissed scientific autobiography as "a most awkward literary genre", arguing that most scientists lead monotonous and uneventful lives. This certainly does not apply to Craig Venter, whose autobiography is fittingly well-written, fast-paced and full of interesting data, gossip — and score-settling.