Genome Dewey Decimal Number: 599.935

Why the record points specifically to human genetics

The source headings identify the human genome and human genetics, both presented for a general readership. That focus is useful because genome is also a broad biological term; the title alone would not specify which organism or what level of treatment is intended. The subtitle, referring to a species and twenty-three chapters, supplies additional context. Read together, the title and subject headings point toward a popular account organised around human genetic material rather than a general laboratory reference covering every organism.

Sources: [1]

In an interview published by Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, Ridley explains that assigning chapters to chromosomes helped him decide what to include. That is a direct account of his organising choice. It is best understood as a narrative framework: a way to select stories from a large subject. It should not be mistaken for a claim that each chromosome has only one function, or that a chapter exhausts everything known about the genetic material associated with it.

Sources: [3]

Copyright 1999 and a February 2000 catalogue entry

The Library of Congress publication statement retains the copyright notation 1999. Open Library's entry for the same ISBN gives February 2000 as its publication date. This page preserves the Library of Congress wording in the metadata and explains the additional date separately. A copyright statement and a publication date are different pieces of bibliographic information; one should not be silently rewritten to force apparent agreement with the other.

Sources: [1] [2]

If you are citing the copy in hand, inspect its title and copyright pages rather than selecting whichever year makes the chronology tidier. If you are comparing the book with scientific events around the turn of the century, record which date you are using and why. This is especially valuable here because the book appeared during an active period of genome research. A small bibliographic ambiguity can otherwise become a larger historical mistake about what findings the author could have discussed.

Sources: [1] [2]

Place the book beside the genome project timeline

The National Human Genome Research Institute distinguishes the working draft announced in 2000 from the project's completion in 2003, and explains that later work resolved remaining difficult regions. This timeline provides a useful companion to a book represented by a 1999 copyright record and a 2000 publication listing. It helps readers recognise that sequencing was a continuing technical effort, not one instant when every question about human genetics became settled.

Sources: [4]

Make a reading timeline with separate entries for the book, a draft sequence and a later project milestone. Then ask whether a particular passage explains a concept, reports a result available at the time, or anticipates a possible development. Those categories age differently. A clear account of an idea can remain useful while a numerical estimate or prediction needs checking against later research. The timeline helps you ask the right question about a passage without dismissing or accepting the whole book merely because of its age.

Sources: [4] [1]

A sequence is not yet an explanation of a person

Ridley's interview describes the challenge of choosing stories while knowledge about genes was expanding. For a reader, that raises a useful distinction between obtaining genetic information and interpreting what it means. A catalogue heading about the human genome tells you the field being discussed; it does not tell you how strong a particular claim about behaviour, disease or identity is. When a narrative connects a genetic observation to a human characteristic, pay attention to the steps between the observation and the conclusion.

Sources: [3] [1]

A practical note-taking method is to label the type of claim: a description of sequence, an association, a proposed mechanism or a wider interpretation. Then write what kind of evidence would support that claim. This keeps the book's storytelling structure from doing more argumentative work than the evidence. It also makes a discussion more precise than asking whether a trait is simply genetic or not. Different questions about a trait can concern different processes and require different kinds of study.

Sources: [1]

Three related books with distinct purposes

The Selfish Gene has 576.5 in its selected record, with evolution and sociobiology among its headings. The Code Breaker also has 576.5, but its headings identify Jennifer Doudna, CRISPR and gene-editing research. Genome's selected record has 599.935 and explicitly human genetic headings. These records give a concrete comparison among a human-genome account, an evolutionary argument and a research biography. The similarity of the vocabulary does not require their numbers or their reading purposes to coincide.

Sources: [5] [6] [1]

For a reading project, arrange the three around questions: what is being described about humans, what is being explained about evolution, and what technique is being developed by researchers? This organisation lets a student notice connections without pretending the books form a single textbook sequence. It also prevents a search for genes from ending at the first popular title returned. The catalogue descriptions provide a useful first distinction; the introductions and contents can then determine which work best fits the enquiry.

Sources: [5] [6]

Use the chapter structure as a set of enquiries

Choose one chapter and identify its human question before listing the genetic material it discusses. Next, separate the scientific account from the larger meaning the author draws from it. Finally, consult a current institutional source for any dated factual point central to your project. This uses the chromosome-based organisation as a route through a complicated subject while leaving room to question the connections. It is a more specific reading strategy for Genome than treating the twenty-three chapters as a complete catalogue of everything that makes a human being.

Sources: [3] [4]

Sources for this edition guide

1. Library of Congress: selected edition record
2. Open Library: same ISBN with February 2000 publication date
3. Matt Ridley: 2004 interview on the writing and structure of Genome
4. NHGRI: Human Genome Project history and milestones
5. The Selfish Gene: selected evolutionary genetics record
6. The Code Breaker: selected gene-editing research record