A brand-new bird: how two amateur scientists created the first genetically engineered animal.

New York: Basic Books, 2003.
Octavo, dustwrapper, 268 pp. black and white illustrations.

WAS $45. The creation of Dolly the sheep in the 1990's was for many people the start of a new era: the age of genetically modified animals. But the idea of genetic engineering began much earlier. In the 1920's an amateur scientist, Hans Duncker, decided to create a red canary, paving the way for others to succeed in the 1960's. This highly original narrative reveals how the bird keepers' obsession with turning the wild canary from green, through yellow to red heralded the exciting but controversial developments in genetic manipulation. Also available in the UK edition [18734].