The Common Thread by John Sulston and Genrgina Ferry:

In 1998, an ambitious American geneticist called Craig Venter announced that his company, Celera Genomics, would get the sequence first, and make it private property. This is the story of how a coalition of scientists fought to ensure that no one could claim to own this information, from the viewpoint of a key combatant: Cambridge scientist John Sulston. The book aims to explain, blow by blow, how the forces of good narrowly won the first battle. It also purports to tell the story of one’s scientist’s life. Independent UK