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Amazon.co.uk Review
In The Seven Daughters of Eve Bryan Sykes has produced a highly readable scientific autobiography depicting the major events in his career as a human geneticist. He was the first to extract DNA from the bones of the 5,000-year-old Iceman, and he solved the problem of the colonisation of Polynesia by tracing modern Polynesians' genetic ancestry. The high point of his work so far is the creation of a genetic map of Western Europe, showing that over 95% of native Europeans can trace their ancestry back to one of seven individual women. To trace this lineage Sykes and his team used mitochondria, tiny structures within each cell, which are passed on purely down the maternal line. Because they do not engage in recombination like chromosomes, mitochondria are easy to trace, changing only as a result of slow mutation. The mutation rate acts as a clock indicating how long different populations have been separated. The science is clearly explained and Sykes gives a good flavour of the life of a working scientist in a series of well-chosen anecdotes, all written in a warm, engaging style. The seven daughters themselves, whom he has named Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Velda, Tara, Katrine and Jasmine, are brought to life in rather whimsical little stories describing how their lives might have been before and during the last great Ice Age. All in all, this is an excellent piece of popular-science writing, unveiling a fascinating story about human inter-relatedness. It deserves to be widely read. --Elizabeth Sourbut
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Book Description
A fascinating evaluation of our genetic origins.
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First Sentence
On Thursday 19 September 1991 Erika and Helmut Simon, two experienced climbers from Nuremberg in Germany, were nearing the end of their walking holiday in the Italian Alps. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
On Thursday 19 September 1991 Erika and Helmut Simon, two experienced climbers from Nuremberg in Germany, were nearing the end of their walking holiday in the Italian Alps. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable read,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Seven Daughters of Eve (Hardcover)
Having gone through a list of Cavalli Sforza, Jared Diamond and Dawkins I stumbled across this book. I have to say that it was a really enjoyable read and something that for the most part held me to the end. What I found too simplistic were the life stories of the seven daughters of Eve. What could have made this even more interesting would have been if he could have added the "daughters of Eve" from other continents. Admittedly he does have a genealogical tree depicting human history back to our African origins. Certainly a book to recommend to anyone.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best popular science book I've read all year,
By
This review is from: The Seven Daughters Of Eve (Paperback)
Even to a mere 16 year old teenager, this book was engrossing. The descriptions of the Seven Daughters of Eve were imaginative, and every line was mixed with humour. Even the most scientific parts of the book were very easy to understand, and even enjoyable, which not many popular science books can do. Sykes has a gift of explaining complex notions clearly, and for that alone, he deserves the five stars.But what is most absorbing about this book is the whole idea of all of us being related to one another. It was definitely an eye opener and made me look at everyone else in the world differently - almost as if I am seeing my brothers and sisters around every corner! The enduring capacity of mitochondrial DNA, and the fact that it stays pure for centuries, was also a gripping concept - and made me realise the power of DNA and our genes. A must read for anyone who is fascinated by genetics. It even made me consider genetics for a future degree!
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
For a book about genetics it's a real page turner!,
By Anna Quay (Middle of England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Seven Daughters of Eve (Paperback)
The blurb goes on about it being passionate and bubbly and whatever, but don't be put off.. it really is good! It's a rare example of a science book which is hard to put down in the way a 'good read' should be, but is more informative than many pop science books come near.In brief the book covers what he looked for (identifiable patterns in mitochondrial DNA); what he found (they exist, and are special because they only pass from mother to child); and what that means (he could prove not only that we're all related but how, when and where). He talks about his excitement at the 'we're all related' factor, and although I started out cynical, or rather apathetic, I was excited too by the end of the book. If you're a 'Helena', then you descend from the same great.... grandmother as anyone else with that marker, which could be your bloke, your dad (as well as your mum), your girlfriend, the bloke selling the big issue on the corner, the confused-looking people on the telly in some Baghdad hospital... when you start thinking about the implications, it gives you a rather funny feeling, and that is what Sykes says is the whole point of the work he does. And even if fluffy we-are-all-one feelings are not for you, I bet you'd be fascinated by the information the book contains! Oh - and as a painless primer in pre-history it's not half bad either.
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