Product Description

Stephen Oppenheimer's extraordinary scientific detective story
combining genetics, linguistics, archaeology and historical record shatters
the myths we have come to live by. It demonstrates that the Anglo-Saxon
invasions contributed just a tiny fraction (5%) to the English gene pool.
Two thirds of the English people reveal an unbroken line of genetic descent
from south-western Europeans arriving long before the first farmers. Most
of the remaining third arrived between 6,000 and 3,000 years ago as part of
long-term north-west European trade and immigration, especially from
Scandinavia - possibly carrying the earliest forms of English language. As
for the Celts - the Irish, Scots and Welsh - history has traditionally
placed their origins in Iron Age Central Europe. Oppenheimer's genetic
synthesis shows the majority to have arrived via the Atlantic coastal route
from Ice Age refuges including the Basque country; with the modern
languages we call Celtic arriving later. There is indeed a deep divide
between the English and the rest of the British. But as this book reveals
the division is many thousands of years older than we ever knew.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9024 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

The Lady
'A very lively discussion on the very popular subject of who we
think we are.'

Current Archaeology
`Fascinating ... Stimulating and provocative'

Barry Cunliffe
`British prehistory will have to be radically re-thought.'

Customer Reviews

A lengthy telling of facts that does not enlighten.
I was very disappointed by this book. I had expected a detective story, like the sub-title, and I had expected to get a wider understanding of the topic. With the mention of DNA analysis on the cover, I had expected to get some science, hopefully like Brian Sykes' very readable informative books.

This is not what happens. The author does not _show_ the reader, the author _tells_ the reader, at great length, many many many historical facts. If you are very interested in this part of ancient history and like having a great many facts recited at you, then maybe you will enjoy this book. The facts may well be true but they are not woven into a story and as the reader you don't get to see _why_ these facts are true. For example, why did such-and-such a gene originate in this area and then spread to that area, how do we know it wasn't the other way round? The book doesn't say, it just pompously tells you. And that's just one of the few dozen facts on that page.

Like one of the other reviewers said,

AVOID.

(makes mental note to self to read the Amazon reviews more thoroughly in future before buying books)

Disagree !
Unlike several of the reviewers, I have found this work very readable, and well presented. I was totally captivated.
Dr. Stephen Oppenheimer by his own admission is not by background an expert in linguistics, archaeology or history. But he is an expert in genetics who has been exasperated at the entrenched dogma in these disciplines, and has extended his research into these areas.
His results are plausible, very lucidly prfesented and a benchmark.
A great read, and very thought provocing !

An in depth re-analyis of 200 years of misinformation on English British roots.
Oppenheimer gives a very convincing new look at pre-Roman Britain. Gone is the simplistic idea of an entirely Celtic people from John O Groats to Kent as perpetuated by the mis-understanding of Bede as propagated since the 1700s. In comes the far more likely idea of several cultures and languages occupying these shores including pre-English and probably pre-Indo-European peoples. With regard to the doubters I would say they doth protest too much. Oppenheimer destroys the idea of an Anglo Saxon genocide of a mythical Celtic England using DNA. He then points out that English has almost no Celt in it and yet is full of Latin. That entirely fits the idea of an already existing pre-English language adopting the words of the Superstrate language of Latin during Roman times. Traditionalists would have us believe that all latin came into English during Norman times. Certainly the Anglo Saxons were invited over to England, but as allies of their kin Vortigern, who was not a Celtic traitor as the Welsh Gildas would have us believe, but was himself Germanic with a latinised name.

The book backs up many ideas which have already been covered by Theo Venneman who believes English to be far older than Roman Britain, and by Colin Renfrew who moved away from the old school idea of all language being carried merely by conquest.