Reading “The Code Breaker” by Walter Isaacson

I am starting author/journalist/professor Walter Isaacson’s latest book “The Code Breaker,” and it is a win-win for me. When I worked at TIME in the late ’70s in the summers while I was going to UC Berkeley, I met Walter, who was a political correspondent and later became the magazine’s editor.

Walter has written some great books since then (biographies on Steve Jobs, Ben Franklin, etc.), and his latest book is about Jennifer Doudna, a professor at Cal, graduate of Pomona College and Nobel Prize winner who is known for her pioneering work in gene editing (all in our Golden State of California).

Walter is an author/history professor at Tulane University in New Orleans, but Jennifer lives in Berkeley. More details here and a Times’ book review.

Author: jeffpelline

Jeff Pelline is a veteran editor and award-winning journalist - in print and online. He is publisher of Sierra FoodWineArt magazine and its website SierraCulture.com. Jeff covered business and technology for The San Francisco Chronicle for 12 years, and he was a founding editor and Editor of CNET News for eight years, among other positions. Jeff has a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and a master's from Northwestern University. His hobbies include sailing, swimming, and trout fishing in the Sierra. View all posts by jeffpelline