If you want a book that will blow your mind while spelling out what exactly is "biotechnology" and how it all came into being than this is the book for you. Venter is a controversial figure indeed, as is anyone who has huge ambitions and actually carries them out.
No matter where you stand on the "Gene wars", I can't recommend this book enough. Venter's account is personal, detailed, and compelling. You can tell he is a guy who genuinely cares about the science, and cares about changing the world.
I think this youtube video does a pretty good job of capturing some of what you can expect to read.
