4 Stars
March 30, 2009
Congresswoman Diana DeGette has written an interesting, lively book on the fight between the right wing and the left on issues such as stem cell research, abstinence-only programs and the availability of Plan B to women in the military. Make no mistake, her book is not a balanced view of the facts, it is a passionately written expose told exclusively from her point of view in the fight, but what a point of view it is.

From the view of an insider, this book is full of fascinating stories of just how things get done in congress and at times it is amusing, others frustrating. It reads much like a biography, starting with Ms. Degette's turn in the Colorado legislature and follows her up to early 2008, detailing her struggles and views along the way.

Whether you agree or not with her opinions (particularly on cloning), this books is a great look at the inside world of congress, including a different side of the "snowflake babies veto" (I always did wonder what that was about), and answers questions about why the Bush administration continued to uphold the stem cell research ban despite public support to the contrary. Some would argue that Ms. Degette has written a book to champion her own efforts in congress, and I would say: of course she has. She has been pushing her causes for years and of course her book is going to support her opinion on the cause. However, if you take the time to check out the details of her book, despite not including sources (which is why I didn't give this book 5 stars), you can easily verify the scientific facts that she cites and the congressional records that she sources.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone. It probably won't convince you otherwise if you strongly feel that her opinion is wrong, but it will give anyone a view into the workings of our government that will stay in your mind long after you have put the book down.

Waste of time by Kim Shaftner MD (East Coast USA)

1 Stars
November 20, 2008
The book contains so many gross scientific inaccuracies that it doesn't pass muster. Although she sanctimoniously condemns conservatives for being duplicitous and anti-science, she has used her position and authority to produce a tome whose assertions about stem cell research are either terribly ill-informed or monstrous hypocrisy. Perhaps it should be better classified as fiction.

For a more expansive assessment, read Yuval Levin's "Blinded by Science" article in the August (2008) online version of National Review.

A great read for those who seek to best understand the Bush Administration's religious policies by Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)

5 Stars
November 10, 2008
Stem Cell research can bring many benefits to humanity, but many stand against it for religious reasons, including the Bush Administration. "Sex, Science, and Stem Cells: Inside the Right Wing Assault on Reason" is an argument that the right wing of American Politics is blinded by religion and is therefore preventing reason and medical science's advance through lack of support and wrongful bans. DeGette has been involved in Congress for more than fifteen years, and makes her case and tells her story of frustration. "Sex, Science, Stem Cells" is a great read for those who seek to best understand the Bush Administration's religious policies.

Stem Cell Research by Joseph S. Maresca (Bronxville, New York USA)

5 Stars
October 11, 2008
The book has a good development of the current status
of stem cell research, the problems and opportunities
available as we move forward. In December, 1994,
an Executive Order set boundaries on creating human
embryos. According to Harriet Rabb-General Counsel,
stem cells aren't within the statutory exclusionary
definition of an embroyo.

Scientists can create plurpotent cells which are
scientifically engineered stem cells for diabetes patients.
President George Bush discussed new treatments with
moral boundaries aimed at keeping the research on
ethical and moral high ground. The idea of cloning
raises red flags .

This is an excellent volume for readers interested
in stem cell issues and current research.

A Political Memoir and a Political Rant by Jeffrey Beall (Denver, CO United States)

3 Stars
October 07, 2008
Diana DeGette is my congresswoman, so I felt motivated to buy and read her book. I wanted to understand her views on stem cell research, and I wanted to learn more about her as a person and a politician.

This is a very emotional book. Representative DeGette is frustrated, angry, and embarrassed. She's frustrated with anyone who doesn't agree with her "common sense" views on anything related to human sexuality and reproduction, she's angry at the religious right for all the victories they have achieved against her, and she's embarrassed that her country is not like liberal Western Europe, where most women are on the pill, and people engage in free love and have abortions all the time and no one is the least bit bothered by it.

So, it's an emotional book, but it's also a very personal book, and this is perhaps the book's saving grace. This isn't so much a book about government policies relating to embryonic stem cell research; it's really a book about Diana DeGette. It's a memoir. Here is the story of a gifted and talented woman who worked her way through college and law school, built a law practice, and then took a risk and entered politics. This book will interest anyone studying the late-20th century politics and government of Denver and Colorado, a political history that DeGette helped create.

Readers will find a big disconnect between the introduction and the rest of the book. The introduction is strident and desultory; the balance of the book is measured and coherent. I think Diana DeGette wrote the introduction herself and Daniel Paisner, her credited ghostwriter, wrote the rest. Still, the entire work effectively conveys DeGette's overwhelming frustration with people who think differently than her. I think she wants her political legacy to be that of a hero for women's causes, but Catholics and other annoying "anti-choice" types keep getting in her way.

Other reviewers have already pointed out that the book presents figures and research findings without proper citations or attribution, and this is true but not a major flaw. For me personally, the book's major disconnect relates to research in general. DeGette consistently portrays herself as a proponent of embryonic stem cell research, and she effectively lists and explains the importance and value of such research. But is she really a research proponent? I work at the only public university in her district, and I don't know of a single thing she's done to support research at this university or research anywhere of any kind except government-funded stem cell research. So she's not really a supporter of research, judging by her lack of support for research in Denver at least.

In the end, DeGette's book is a pretty good, ghostwritten memoir, a political rant, and a case study of feminist political activism

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