The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Showing how the secrets about our ancestors are hidden in our genetic code, Spencer Wells reveals how developments in the cutting-edge science of population genetics have made it possible to create a family tree for the whole of humanity. We now know not only where our ancestors lived but who they fought, loved, and influenced." "Informed by this new science, The Journey of Man is replete with astonishing information. Wells tells us that there was a real Adam and Eve, but that Eve came first by some 80,000 years. We hear how the male Y-chromosome has been used to trace the spread of humanity from Africa into Eurasia, why differing racial types emerged when mountain ranges split population groups and that the San Bushmen of the Kalahari have some of the oldest genetic markers in the world. We learn, finally with absolute certainty, that Neanderthals are not our ancestors and that the entire genetic diversity of Native Americans can be accounted for by just ten individuals." It is an enthralling, epic tour through the history and development of early humankind - as well as an accessible look at the analysis of human genetics that is giving us definitive answers to questions we have asked for centuries, questions now more compelling than ever.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
In this surprisingly accessible book, British geneticist Wells sets out to answer long-standing anthropological questions of where humans came from, how we migrated and when we arrived in such places as Europe and North America. To trace the migration of human beings from our earliest homes in Africa to the farthest reaches of the globe, Wells calls on recent DNA research for support. Clues in the blood of present groups such as eastern Russia's Chukchi, as well as the biological remnants of long-extinct human clans, allow Wells to follow the Y chromosome as a relatively unaltered marker of human heritage. Eventually, working backward through time, he finds that the earliest common "ingredient" in males' genetic soup was found in a man Wells calls the "Eurasian Adam," who lived in Africa between 31,000 and 79,000 years ago. Each subsequent population, isolated from its fellows, gained new genetic markers, creating a map in time and space. Wells writes that the first modern humans "left Africa only 2,000 generations ago" and quickly fanned out across Asia, into Europe, and across the then-extant land bridge into the Americas. Using the same markers, he debunks the notion that Neanderthals were our ancestors, finds odd links between faraway peoples, and most startlingly discovers that all Native Americans can be traced to a group of perhaps a dozen people. By explaining his terminology and methods throughout the book, instead of in a chunk, Wells makes following the branches of the human tree seem easy. 44 color photos, 54 halftones and 3 maps. (Feb.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
In this companion to a PBS special, Wells, a geneticist formerly associated with Oxford University, offers a worthy addition to the field of DNA analysis-currently a hot topic in popular science writing. While recent books like Bryan Sykes's The Seven Daughters of Eve have traced mitochondrial DNA (female), this adventure follows the track of the Y-chromosome (male). In addition to relating the always interesting story of humankind's spread from Africa into the far corners of the world, the author attempts to answer some of the big questions that have concerned paleoanthropology: how to account for the demise of the Neanderthals, determine the probable dates for the habitation of North and South America, and describe the spread and relationship of the world's languages. Fortunately for the lay reader, Wells has a knack for clear descriptions and clever analogies to help explain the intricacies of the science involved. Both entertaining and enlightening, this book is a good addition to popular science collections. Recommended.-Ann Forister, Roseville P.L., CA
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
"Written with much verve, easy to read, and up-to-date on many important developments." — Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza
"Spencer Wells, whose genetic work has contributed to our understanding of human prehistory, has provided the lay reader with an account of the spread and mixing of the human species from its origin in Africa that is both scientifically accurate and accessible to the nonscientist. In achieving that accessibility, he has not made the common error of confusing simple explanations with simplistic ones. Most important, Wells has the intellectual integrity, all too rare in popularizations of science, to distinguish what is really known from what is only speculation." — Richard Lewontin
Home
