Since the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, for the first time we have within our grasp the ability to predict our genetic future, to diagnose and prevent disease before it begins, and to decode what it really means to be human. What is this achievement, in layman's terms? Offering insights and accessible explanations, Stanford's Euan Ashley details the medicine behind genome sequencing introducing the dynamic group of researchers and doctor detectives who hunt for answers, and the pioneering patients who open up their lives to the medical community during their search for diagnoses and cures.

"This wonderful page-turner captures the excitement, peril, wonder and anticipation of the so-called 'genomics' era…. Ashley, one of the pioneers of gene sequencing technologies, writes with authority, elegance and simplicity."—Siddhartha Mukherjee