The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey (Princeton Science Library, 51)

Well written. Presents the evolution of modern man by following the DNA history of the Y Chromosome (man vs women's DNA). Interesting. Worth the read. Aimed at the Lay reader. I am glad I read the book. But also a bit tedious and required some effort to stay connected. I have a general feeling about the topic but couldn't carry on a conversation about it. Starting with the DNA Adam (M168 chromosome), then moving on to the next DNA branch (M130 and M89). Eventually its the story of how man exited Africa and populated the world by following the sequence of the DNA chromosomes. Apparently a companion book to a TV documentary. I thought a simple Time Line in Chapter 1, showing things like Upper/Middle Palaeolthic periods, Neanderthals, Homo Sapiens, Homo Erectus etc would have been helpful to me.

Great book and very well written. I am a professional cultural anthropologist who just retired after 42 years of teaching. I had not paid much attention to the new work on genetics done in physical anthropology. This new research changes our picture of modern human origins completely. Spencer Wells does a great job of bringing the findings of several disciplines together to make a very strong argument. We all come from Africa - that is well known - but all modern humans stem from the same African woman who lived 150,000 years ago. Our spread through-out the planet out of Africa began only 60,000 years ago. He shows that by following the coastal route out of Africa our human ancestors could move rapidly across the planet. The old view is that we evolved from Homo Erectus and then Neanderthal man, but it appears that we just wiped them out, although there was some interbreeding. If you find this review hard to believe, then read the book.

This book is excellent in its field, and it would have gained its fifth star if the scientific foundations of genetics and genetic variability had been explained with a few more concessions to educated general readers who need help with the technical intricacies of genetic variation. Except for that minor warning, Spencer Wells has done a very great service to those of us who seek a clearer understanding of the details of how our species came to occupy all of Earth, after our very high-risk emergence from Eastern Africa about 60,000 years ago. The importance Wells attributes to Darwinian thinking about the application to homo sapiens of variability and selection to our emergence and proliferation is profound. Two key points stand out with great clarity: the very small populations of homo sapiens that survived the hazards that their varied groups encountered, before the development of agriculture, and the very high mortality that prevailed among those groups which faced the hazards of their journeys. It seems ironic now, when our human expansion and "conquest" of Earth raises serious doubts about our species' capacity to continue to survive, that there was so long a period when it seems remarkable that homo sapiens survived at all. Bernard Z. Friedlander, PhD, Madison, WI

This is a very scholarly discussion and I find it best read in very small bites. However, the information contained within is to be trusted and it contains a lot of surprises in terms of our common genetic history. This book is a "must" for anybody interested, however, remotely in the history of DNA.

The story of humanity as you have rarely seen it before. The journey of the ancestors tranced through the eons and the markers in their DNA. Journey into deep time and follow the first people as they left Africa and made their way in waves through to the America’s over some 40+ thousand years. Immensely readable and enjoyable. Highly recommended

I wanted a nice easy primer into the field of genetic history. This book served that purpose well. Not overly much detail is gone into, it sticks to presenting the large overview of things, which is what I wanted and expected.Some reviewers complain about the quality of the maps, in my paperback version they were all good, I had no problem reading them.Pros: Nice primer into the field of genetic history, neither too scholarly nor too superficial. For me anyway, YMMV. The small physical size of the paperback is convenient.Cons: It's only useful as an introduction into the subject, not for indepth research. It focuses almost exclusively on the Y chromosome data, little information from other sources is presented. The names of the haplogroups are given as M168, M89, M9, M45 etc rather than the more familiar CT, F, K, P etc. The book offers no translation between the naming schemes. Wikipedia makes that translation easy, though. Possibly the most important page is the map on page 182, it should have been at the very front, the whole book needs to be read with that map in mind.On the balance, I find 4 stars to be right.

I always thought of myself as being really smart, but either old age and abuse have taken their toll, or I never was as smart as they told me. They also told me I was a lazy smart-ass, what is now known as ADD, or Ritalin deprived. I can't seem to finish a non-fiction book to save my life, even one as fascinating as this. OK, I confess, I jumped around and got the general thesis, but it's fascinating. I understood it from the overall classic comics version standpoint; those of you with some understanding of genetics will find it intrigueing. Read with Guns, Germs, and Steel, and The Real Work by Gary Snyder to get a better picture of the golden age of humanity that was pretty steady-state for 40,000 years, and how we've flushed it all since the last ice age. Did I mention the wonderful photographs?

Spencer Wells presents us with a lively portrait of the human journey through tens of thousands of years. He explains genetic patterns in an understandable way and also sheds light about the extinction of the Neanderthals. A superb book about our origins.

I have several DVDs on this subject, and this is the best. The information contained is cutting edge and presented in a logical, understandable way.

must buy

Very informative and mind boggling one. Every chapter deciphers the hiden information of human origin and migration. Need some interest in these topics to stay connected. quite difficult to understand some concepts. The last chapter with the source of information is excellent. Luigi cavalla Sforza the pioneer has been greatly eulogized in every chapter. Kindled to read books like gene language culture, the history and geography of gene

One of the few books that I find easy to read as a "non-specialist", explaining the mechanisms that could have led to our success in the "conquest" of our Planet. The explanations really seem to make sense, and are compatible with our understanding of Life. A book worth reading.