Deep Ancestry: Inside The Genographic Project

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 599.935 EAN: 9781426201189 ISBN: 1426201184 Label: National Geographic Manufacturer: National Geographic Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 256 Publication Date: 2007-11-20 Publisher: National Geographic Release Date: 2007-11-20 Studio: National Geographic
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Editorial Reviews: Travel backward through time from today's scattered billions to the handful of early humans who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago and are ancestors to us all. In Deep Ancestry, scientist and National Geographic explorer Spencer Wells shows how tiny genetic changes add up over time into a fascinating story. Using scores of real-life examples, helpful analogies, and detailed diagrams and illustrations, he explains exactly how each and every individual's DNA contributes another piece to the jigsaw puzzle of human history. The book takes readers inside the Genographic Project—the landmark study now assembling the world's largest collection of DNA samples and employing the latest in testing technology and computer analysis to examine hundreds of thousand of genetic profiles from all over the globe—and invites us all to take part.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Harrison's Review Comment: Deep Ancestry by Spencer Wells is a book that uses the advances in genetics to look inside the common ancestor shared by all humans. Wells uses the genetic trails of the mtDNA in women and the y chromosome in men to classify people to certain genetic groups. The book follows four individuals who have unique genetic patterns that link them to the very original ancestors of all human life. The book goes into detailed description on how history and genetics combine to form a team that can decode seemingly useless objects and tell of their genetic origins. Basically, Wells uses genetics to find the original human and then show the patterns of migration throughout the world from this one human. The book is well written but very dry. It goes into explicit detail about the sequences of DNA, which to the untrained eye, just look like a page full of letters and numbers. This gets very repetitive after a while and is a slight criticism of the book. The book is very interesting about the fact that all humans can be traced back to a common ancestor most likely from somewhere in Africa. Also, the migration patterns of the people throughout the world can be determined by genetics. This book fuses history and genetics into one and the same. Geneticists tell historians of the migration patterns, and the historians back this information up with archeological evidence that points to certain people being in certain places at certain times. All in all the book was boring but informative. I enjoyed the biological information gained from it regarding the uses of genetics in history. This book shows how everyone truly I your "brother". Harrison Addy Customer Rating: Summary: Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project Comment: This book was alright, but not as good as his other book "Jouney of Man". Customer Rating: Summary: Great Information! Great Work! Comment: This is a great complement to the Seven Daughters Of Eve. The story of where we, the human race, originated is so essential to understand! This book details not only this but how his and his colleagues' work are helping people get back to their roots. They are helping people understand where they came from - their 'belonging' in this world. What a great thing to do! More importantly, this shows how we are all interconnected and really is a death-blow to racism in all its forms. Customer Rating: Summary: Read Journey and Forget This One Comment: Most of the info in this book is a rehash of the history of genetic biology that Wells covered in his first book. He tells you what he is doing with the new data gathering, but if you read the first book, you will quickly become bored. Wells is brilliant and like Brian Sykes, he is doing important work in unravelling our ancestral past. Unfortunately, Wells is better at telling you what he doing rather than writing about it. The man often takes two or three pages to explain something that should only take one or two paragraphs to explain adequately. I find that overly pedantic. This is common practice for most academics. Wells also made a passive/aggressive political comment that I found to be irksome in a book about genetic anthropology. He said "I met with President Clinton at the end of his second term when the President was still arguably the most powerful man in the world." I've got news for Spence. The President of the United States is still the most powerful man in the world and it's not arguable. The U.S. is the most powerful economy in the world and Bush's policies helped to add an enormous amount of wealth to everyone in the world. We produce twenty five percent of the world's GDP with less than five percent of the planet's population. The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful military in the world and he can project our country's military power anywhere on this globe. It is not arguable. I know Wells spent several years at Cambridge that is still a hotbed of English communism, but I expected a little more common sense from a true genius prodigy. While the first book was good if a little tiresome, the second book is a real snore. Wells is much better talking on film. I recommend his DVDs and the first book, but the money saved on this one could be better spent on Sykes' Seven Daughters of Eve. Customer Rating: Summary: Interesting and educational Comment: I have to admit this is a subject that already interested me but I was very impressed with the writing style and how fun it has been to read! Written almost like a fun story but with very interesting and understandable science behind it. More Reviews