NetGalley Review: The Better Half by Sharon Moalem, MD,PhD

I really wanted to like this book, the premise was interesting and it seemed like a good fit for my recent deep dive into non-fiction dealing with women and healthcare.  It wasn’t a “bad” book, I did finish it and some of it was interesting and informative. It just wasn’t a great book.

I didn't know much about the author, and while the book indicates extensive education in genetics and clinical medicine, he also wrote a book that promises magical weight-loss and a way to reverse aging...so maybe keep a critical eye on what you read in his work.  

As for the content of this book it was heartily OK.   The premise that having two X chromosomes as a genetic female opens up many advantages is pretty solid and the explanations of how that might be are well written.  The real meat of the arguments is pretty technical, though Moalem does a good job making it digestible for readers. However, the basic information regarding the benefits of having two X chromosomes could have been easily explained in a single paper.  Much of the narrative is just that, a narrative of all the cool places and cool things that Moalem has done, with some tangential tie ins to the theory that two X chromosomes creates genetic superiority.

Again, not a bad book, but not one I would recommend given the wealth of better options that deal with this topic.