From basic cell science, the book moves seamlessly into the fascinating new material and premise. The argument is that by giving so much precedence to the role of DNA in directing cell form and function, we miss the crucial role that cells themselves have in interacting with their environment. The writing is clear and intriguing.

This book is an eye opener into the frontiers of biology by an expert.

"It would, of course, be foolish to argue that genes have nothing to do with who and what we are; they do. But they are not the masters of our being and fate that they have been made out to be. The notion of a toolbox is often bandied about without ever answering the question of who or what is selecting and using the tools. As we have seen here, that elusive entity is the cell. ... When we obtain embryo-like structures, we are able to see why cells with the same genes use those genes differently, creating different spaces in different time and thus building the various tissues and organs of which we are made. Same genes, different outcomes, depending on the cells’ immediate environment. Out of the interactions and communications of trillions of cells, we emerge. The cell is the architect, the master builder." -- from the Epilogue.

Fascinating! Anyone interested in the foundation of our being will be enriched by this book.