Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters (1999) is about as easy as it gets to understand this subject matter. Matt Ridley is a science journalist and author. He is best known for his books on genetics, evolution and looking at human behaviour from an evolutionary viewpoint.
Genome has one chapter for every pair of human chromosomes, thus using the book itself as a metaphor for the human body. Each chapter looks at a different pair of chromosomes and Ridley picks a gene from each to discuss throughout the chapter. From looking at these genes he covers the rise of homo-sapiens, an individual’s likelihood of inheriting a disease, and even their ability for language. Genome is a great book to gain knowledge on genetics in an accessible and entertaining way.
ISBN 978-1857028355