EMBRYO A Defense of Human Life

The authors labor their view that "research on human embryos is not morally justified." Although they offer a short course in embryology and use a sophisticated scientific vocabulary, their arguments depend heavily on the less-concrete social sciences. Discussing embryology—a four-dimensional concept—without the use of pictures or diagrams doesn't lend itself well to the audio format. Narrator Nelson Runger falls short of his usual ease, as he reads a word at a time rather than a sentence at a time. At first, listeners may find the bumpy pace annoying, but after a few chapters the distraction lessens. Runger does, however, make effective use of his methodical gait when pronouncing the plethora of scientific terms: pleuripotency, embryogenesis, and blastocysts. He makes no mistakes. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2008]