DNA's power is global - it has orchestrated the history of life on earth for three and a half billion years. Yet its touch is intimate - it determines your chances of getting cancer, the amount of cholesterol in your father's blood, and the color of your daughter's eyes. Over the past three decades, advances in our knowledge of DNA have transformed our understanding of the living world and reached into every corner of biological research. Already the rewards of this new biology have been extraordinary - genetically engineered crops, a deeper understanding of evolutionary theory, and nearly every advance in the struggle against AIDS. But molecular biology, through abilities that draw us ever closer to "playing God" with DNA, also raises awesome ethical and moral questions that didn't exist a half-century ago. The Secret of Life takes both the newly curious and the seasoned biology reader on a guided tour of this ongoing scientific revolution and its impact on our daily lives.