The Code Breaker

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.^[1]

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

First edition cover
Author	Walter Isaacson
Language	English
Subject	Jennifer Doudna CRISPR gene editing
Genre	Biography science
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Publication date	March 9, 2021
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardcover), e-book, audiobook
Pages	560
ISBN	978-1-9821-1585-2 (hardcover)
OCLC	1187220557
Dewey Decimal	576.5
LC Class	QH440 .I83 2021
Preceded by	Leonardo da Vinci

Promotion

On March 22, 2021, Isaacson appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to discuss the book.^[2]

Reception

The book debuted at number one on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list for the week ending March 13, 2021.^[3]

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."^[4]

Publishers Weekly called it a "gripping account of a great scientific advancement and of the dedicated scientists who realized it."^[5]