Product Description

A fascinating evaluation of our genetic origins.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21233 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

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

Synopsis
In 1994 Professor Bryan Sykes, a leading world authority on DNA and human evolution, was called in to examine the frozen remains of a man trapped in glacial ice in northern Italy. News of the discovery of the Ice Man and his age, which was put at over five thousand years old, fascinated the world. But what made the story particularly extraordinary was that Professor Sykes was also able to track down a living generic relative of the Ice Man, a woman living in Britain today. How was he able to locate a living relative of a man who died thousands of years ago? In The Seven Daughters of Eve, Bryan Sykes gives us a first hand account of his research into a remarkable gene which passes undiluted from generation to generation through the maternal line and shows how it is being used to track our genetic ancestors through time and space. After plotting thousands of DNA sequences from all over the world he found that they had clustered around a handful of distinct groups. In Europe there are only seven. The conclusion: almost everyone of native European descent, wherever they live in the world, can trace their ancestry back to one of seven women, the Seven Daughters of Eve.

He has named them Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Velda, Tara, Katrine and Jasmine. In this remarkable scientific adventure story we learn exactly how our origins can be traced, how and where our ancient genetic ancestors lived, what their live were like and how we are each living proof of the almost miraculous strength of our DNA which has survived and prospered over so many thousands of years to reach us today. It is a book that not only presents the story of our evolution in a wholly new light, but also strikes right at the heart of ourselves as individuals and of our sense of identity.

From the Publisher
The terrific story of how genetics reveals our human origins
Bryan Sykes has just returned from the Hay-on-Wye Literary Festival having spoken to a packed house about his gripping book. There was standing room only for those who arrived late to hear the fascinating story of his search into the origins of our genetic ancestors.

The compelling content of his story has been borne out by the first reviews of his book:

`This is a wonderful tale of archeology and genetics that should be read by anyone concerned with what we are. . . A terrific book, written with humour and a humanity that shames the racist strife lurking in modern Europe.' - 'The Sunday Times'

`..an engrossing, bubbly read, a boy's own adventure in scientific story-telling that fairly bounces along . . . a thumping good read.' - 'The Observer'

`Sykes's wonderfully clear book should be compulsory reading for politicians..(he) provides an eye-opening guide to the new branch of science that is changing the human race's view of itself.' - `Literary Review'

Customer Reviews

Popular science
Which I don't mean perjoratively at all - quite the reverse. Any book that makes a scientific issue more accessible wins stars as far as I am concerned. This one is fascinating and well-written. It spans the millennia, and yet is human-scale, and as much about 'now' as 'then'. None of us would be here if we didn't carry the DNA of our forbears - we each of us are a part of history, and have our own unique role to play as well. What could be more heart-warming, and thrilling, than that awareness?

If only more scientists - and engineers,and all 'ologists'- would write so well and engagingly about their about their fields. And that the books be read by much wider audiences, so that more of us can be inspired by these kinds of stories, which have resonance for all of us. 25-50,000 years ago, 7 clan mothers can be claimed by 75% of today's Europeans - even if it wasn't precisely true, how effective it is is reminding us that we are all very closely related, in reality, and there are no nasty foreigners that are so easy to reject, and despise. They are an illusion, born of fear and supposed threat - and a very dangerous illusion too, giving rise to racism, genocides and wars.

Please read this book, and see whether you don't agree!

Science Fiction
I will say that this book is a mediocre science fiction book. I can see by the many reviews that people have fell for his "facts" hook, line, and sinker. Don't waste your time and money on this book. This book is yet another attempt of political correctness nonsense.

Well written and thought provoking in many ways
Having been aware of this book for a few years, I finally bought a copy to take on a train journey. Needless to say I was very pleased for a number of reasons.

Like other reviewers the sheer elegance of the central idea of being (90% likely for Europeans) descended from one of seven women is compelling. the science is built up fairly simply (I did O level biology a long time ago!) and the way the theory of mitochondrial inheritance grows from the chance experiences of the team is a good read.

The writing style is also very accessible and did not turn me off from the book at all.

I had to pause and think hard in a couple of places, and would love the opportunity to understand some of the fine detail (why did the Eve's have two daughters each still gets me thinking).

I was also surprised by the insight into academia and the in-fighting that goes in which threatened to bury theory more than once. Although only told from one side, it came across as quite scary that the rightness of the idea was less important than the reputation of others in the scientific world. I am left wondering how much good science gets discarded by the challenge of surviving the peer review process and the personalities therein. On the other hand one could argue that anything that becomes accepted science has been well challenged and stands up to scrutiny so is better.

Anyway, if you ever wondered about where your mother's mother's mother's.....mother came from, read this book!