Craig Venter is no ordinary scientist, and no ordinary man. He has sailed life-threatening oceans, wrestled a sea snake and survived the Vietnam War. And, as the first person ever to read their own DNA, he has discovered what makes us human. This is the story of his incredible life: from teenage rebel to daredevil risk-taker and maverick researcher, who cut loose from the scientific establishment to unravel the sequence of the human genome - and became embroiled in one of the biggest controversies of our age. Incorporating his own genetic make-up into his story, this is an electiryfing portrait of a man who pushed back the boundaries of the possible. 'An all-action autobiography' Financial Times , Books of the Year 'Craig Venter has scorched a trail through genetics. A Life Decoded is a page-turner throughout' New Scientist 'The first genetic autobiography. it is also a cracking story' The Times , Books of the Year.