09-19-2006, 03:15 PM
Has anyone read this book? Any reviews?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->From Amazon.com
<b>Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors</b> (Hardcover)
by Nicholas Wade (Author)
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The (April 20, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 1594200793
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Scientists are using DNA analysis to understand our prehistory: the
evolution of humans; their relation to the Neanderthals, who populated
Europe and the Near East; and Homo erectus, who roamed the steppes of
Asia. Most importantly, geneticists can trace the movements of a
little band of human ancestors, numbering perhaps no more than 150,
who crossed the Red Sea from east Africa about 50,000 years ago.
Within a few thousand years, their descendents, Homo sapiens, became
masters of all they surveyed, the other humanoid species having become
extinct. According to New York Times science reporter Wade, this DNA
analysis shows that evolution isn't restricted to the distant past:
Iceland has been settled for only 1,000 years, but the inhabitants
have already developed distinctive genetic traits. Wade expands his
survey to cover the development of language and the domestication of
man's best friend. And while "race" is often a dirty word in science,
one of the book's best chapters shows how racial differences can be
marked genetically and why this is important, not least for the
treatment of diseases. This is highly recommended for readers
interested in how DNA analysis is rewriting the history of mankind.
Maps. (Apr. 24)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier
Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Genetics has been intruding on human origins research, long the domain
of archaeology and paleoanthropology. Veteran science journalist Wade
applies the insights of genetics to every intriguing question about
the appearance and global dispersal of our species. The result is
Wade's recounting of "a new narrative," which also has elements of a
turf war between geneticists and their established colleagues. He
efficiently explains how an evolutionary event (e.g., hairlessness) is
recorded in DNA, and how rates of mutation can set boundary dates for
it. For the story, Wade opens with a geneticist's estimate that modern
(distinct from "archaic") Homo sapiens arose in northeast Africa
59,000 years ago, with a tiny population of only a few thousand, and
was homogenous in appearance and language. Tracking the ensuing
expansion and evolutionary pressures on humans, Wade covers the
genetic evidence bearing on Neanderthals, race, language, social
behaviors such as male-female pair bonding, and cultural practices
such as religion. Wade presents the science skillfully, with detail
and complexity and without compromising clarity. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->From Amazon.com
<b>Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors</b> (Hardcover)
by Nicholas Wade (Author)
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The (April 20, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 1594200793
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Scientists are using DNA analysis to understand our prehistory: the
evolution of humans; their relation to the Neanderthals, who populated
Europe and the Near East; and Homo erectus, who roamed the steppes of
Asia. Most importantly, geneticists can trace the movements of a
little band of human ancestors, numbering perhaps no more than 150,
who crossed the Red Sea from east Africa about 50,000 years ago.
Within a few thousand years, their descendents, Homo sapiens, became
masters of all they surveyed, the other humanoid species having become
extinct. According to New York Times science reporter Wade, this DNA
analysis shows that evolution isn't restricted to the distant past:
Iceland has been settled for only 1,000 years, but the inhabitants
have already developed distinctive genetic traits. Wade expands his
survey to cover the development of language and the domestication of
man's best friend. And while "race" is often a dirty word in science,
one of the book's best chapters shows how racial differences can be
marked genetically and why this is important, not least for the
treatment of diseases. This is highly recommended for readers
interested in how DNA analysis is rewriting the history of mankind.
Maps. (Apr. 24)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier
Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Genetics has been intruding on human origins research, long the domain
of archaeology and paleoanthropology. Veteran science journalist Wade
applies the insights of genetics to every intriguing question about
the appearance and global dispersal of our species. The result is
Wade's recounting of "a new narrative," which also has elements of a
turf war between geneticists and their established colleagues. He
efficiently explains how an evolutionary event (e.g., hairlessness) is
recorded in DNA, and how rates of mutation can set boundary dates for
it. For the story, Wade opens with a geneticist's estimate that modern
(distinct from "archaic") Homo sapiens arose in northeast Africa
59,000 years ago, with a tiny population of only a few thousand, and
was homogenous in appearance and language. Tracking the ensuing
expansion and evolutionary pressures on humans, Wade covers the
genetic evidence bearing on Neanderthals, race, language, social
behaviors such as male-female pair bonding, and cultural practices
such as religion. Wade presents the science skillfully, with detail
and complexity and without compromising clarity. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->