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Spencer Wells

Deep Ancestry: Inside The Genographic Project Paperback – November 20, 2007

by Spencer Wells (Author)

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Travel backward through time from today's scattered billions to the handful of early humans who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago and are ancestors to us all.

In Deep Ancestry, scientist and National Geographic explorer Spencer Wells shows how tiny genetic changes add up over time into a fascinating story. Using scores of real-life examples, helpful analogies, and detailed diagrams and illustrations, he explains exactly how each and every individual's DNA contributes another piece to the jigsaw puzzle of human history. The book takes readers inside the Genographic Project—the landmark study now assembling the world's largest collection of DNA samples and employing the latest in testing technology and computer analysis to examine hundreds of thousand of genetic profiles from all over the globe—and invites us all to take part.

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

National Geographic
Publication date

November 20, 2007
Dimensions

4.81 x 0.65 x 7.81 inches
ISBN-10

9781426201189
ISBN-13

978-1426201189
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this concise and well-written work, Wells (The Journey of Man) provides an accessible introduction to genetic anthropology, the study of human history using genetic evidence. It is a remarkable journey that will appeal to readers of all backgrounds interested in exploring the science and research behind human evolution." —Publishers Weekly

"Wells ends the book with an invitation to take part in the project... This is a rare chance to not only learn about ourselves, but to contribute in a worldwide scientific experiment." —Bookpage

About the Author

Spencer Wells is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and the director of the Genographic Project. After studying under genetic pioneer Luigi Cavalli-Sforza at Stanford University, he began an unusual career that mixes science, writing, and filmmaking. His acclaimed first book, The Journey of Man, combined his own DNA research with the work of archaeologists, paleoanthropologists, paleoclimatologists, and linguists to show how modern humans came to populate the planet.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1426201184
Publisher ‏ : ‎ National Geographic; Reprint edition (November 20, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781426201189
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1426201189
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.81 x 0.65 x 7.81 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #112,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #20 in Physical Anthropology (Books)
- #71 in Genetics (Books)
- #323 in Biology (Books)

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Spencer Wells is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and Frank H. T. Rhodes Class of '56 Professor at Cornell University. He leads the Genographic Project, which is collecting and analyzing hundreds of thousands of DNA samples from people around the world in order to decipher how our ancestors populated the planet. Wells received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and conducted postdoctoral work at Stanford and Oxford. He has written three books, The Journey of Man, Deep Ancestry, and Pandora's Seed. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, a documentary filmmaker.

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Emil B

We've got history in our genes

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2006

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What a marvellous little book! I was taken by surprise so many times during my reading, whenever I thought I knew what the author is about at the beginning of many of his stories. In a way, this is like a crime fiction book written by a clever writer that catches you off guard and it reveals the killer only at the last page. The writing style is deceivingly simple; Spencer gets over the scientific details of genetics in a few paragraphs where he tells you in plain English everything you need to know to understand this book. The book then flows smoothly and he managed to make it so easy for you to follow the main ideas and try to decipher what is probably the greatest puzzle of all: the origins of human race. You will have a few surprises.

You might have seen the National Geographic documentary "The Journey of Man". Its author is none other than same Spence Wells. He is only 37 years old, and very, very bright. I have to emphasize again the writing style: very simple, yet it explains clearly complex concepts. He talks science, yet he is humorous and light. He uses sometimes numbers and probabilities, but the book is in general built around stories of five people chosen to represent the main haplogroups (families or a clans of people that share the same genetic properties transmitted over many generations) in the history of mankind. Spencer Wells is currently a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and the director of Genographic Project. It is a great and fascinating role he is playing. The goal of this project is to collect about 100,000 genetic samples from people around the world that live in still pristine conditions: that is they live in the same area their families lived for a long time. This information is stored in a database and by applying sophisticated algorithms; we should be able to determine how we have evolved in time, how we migrated and how we came to become the people of today. I was a little bit sceptical about this entire concept, but the book convinced me. You will have to read it to understand what really means. It is a powerful idea.

The book is based on five stories told people with very different backgrounds. Each story will astound you. You will also have a better understanding of what genetic archaeology is. If you are familiar with DNA, it will make even more sense to you. The DNA is seen more and more like a cryptic library that holds many secrets about our evolution. Segments of code will reveal relationships never thought possible. This book does not go that much in detail, but it does tell you the story in a nicely narrated style that takes you step by step through the various haplogroups patterns, like a detective, and come up with unexpected conclusions.

In the end you will see why scientists believe that the Adam and Eve, the original parents of all the people that populated this planet today, lived around 60,000 years ago in Africa. If you take the time to think about it, you realise how amazing this is. In 2,000 generations we evolved from an ape like humanoid to the generation of the Internet. The book will take you through the Ice Age, the disappearance of Neanderthal, the conquest of Asia, the mystery of Australian Aborigines, invasion of Americas and many other adventures. Back to Africa, you will get to know how genetically diverse this continent is. Did you know that two of the oldest haplogroups (tribes) still live in Africa today and probably they speak the oldest language, perhaps the first languages? These people speak the so-called click languages that are more sophisticated in the variety of sounds than our modern languages.

The book has also information about how to purchase a Genographic Project Public Participation Kit. For $99.95 you can get that kit, collect your DNA sample and send it to the project office. The results are kept confidentially in the project database and you will have secure access to your DNA profile. You can find more details at [...]

I recommend this book to anyone curious about genetics, genealogy, history, evolution and genetic archaeology.

182 people found this helpful

Helpful

Sound Science But Lacks Panache

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2013

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Deep Ancestry: The Landmark DNA Quest to Decipher Our Distant Past by Spencer Wells

"Deep Ancestry" takes the reader on a scientific journey to the past with the goal of seeking our common ancestors of everyone alive today. With the focus predominately on reading DNA as a historical document and with the assistance of converging scientific knowledge, the author provides an overview of what we know today. While the topic is fascinating and the book is accessible the prose lacks panache. This mildly disappointing and brief 256-page book is composed of the following six chapters: 1. The Block, 2. Odine's Story: The Exception, 3. Margaret's Story: The Hearth, 4. Phil's Story: The Ice, 5. Virumandi's Story: The Beach, and 6. Julius's Story: The Cradle.

Positives:
1. The fascinating topic of genetics in the hands of Dr. Wells.
2. Accessible book for the masses.
3. Good use of charts and diagrams.
4. Each chapter revolves around a human story and the author injects our knowledge of genetics as it applies to said story.
5. Many interesting tidbits interspersed throughout book.
6. The origins of the Genographic Project and its goals.
7. A brief history of migration. Well argumented theories backed by good science. Mapping the migrations.
8. Genetics at a basic level. The author does a good job of laying down the basics. He also provides a helpful glossary. The use of genetics to help us discover our past. "Our scientific goal is to explain global patterns of human diversity".
9. Human evolution...it does a species "good". "If we go back far enough, all human share a common ancestor at some point in the past".
10. The concept of race in proper scientific context.
11. Important topics discussed: the importance of the Y chromosome, haplogroups, mitochondrial DNA, mutations. These genetic topics form the foundation of this book.
12. The use of archeology to complement genetics.
13. The impact of climate to human evolution. "Cool" stuff.
14. One of the joys of this book is learning about different cultures: the Chukchi, Yakut, and the Hadzabe.
15. A look into Neanderthals.
16. The cause of genetic differences. "As humans moved through Eurasia, then, the forces of genetic drift, climatic adaption, and sexual selection combined to change their physical appearance".
17. The evolution of language. "The speech-enabling hyoid bones (the bone in your Adam's apple) found in Neanderthal remains attest to a throat structure that would allow spoken language..." Interesting.
18. The deepest lineages discussed. The level of variations.
19. The future of the Genographic Project.
20. Appendix describing haplogroups, a formal bibliography and web addresses.

Negatives:
1. The writing style is quite dry, it is standard science fare. Where's the passion? The love of discovery...
2. There are simply many books that cover this topic better. Please check my further suggestions.

In summary, this is an average book. Genetics is a fascinating topic and Dr. Wells is a gifted scientist and documentary filmmaker but for whatever reason the book lacked the panache and substance of his documentaries. There are many books that have covered this interesting topic better. That being stated, I commend Dr. Wells on his important work on the Genographic Project and wish him much success in his endeavors. Borrow this one from your local library.

Further suggestions: " The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution " by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending, " Written in Stone " by Brian Switek, " Why Evolution Is True " by Jerry A. Coyne, " The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution [Paperback ]" by Sean B. Carroll, " Your Inner Fish " by Neil Shubin, " Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA " by Daniel J. Fairbanks, " Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul " by Kenneth R. Miller, and " Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution " by Nick Lane, " Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors " by Nicholas Wade, and " The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code " by Sam Kean. "DNA USA" by Bryan Sykes might be of interest but it is also dry. I have reviewed all of the aforementioned books look under the tag, "Book Shark Reviews".

10 people found this helpful

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Joseph E de Vicq

Great for researchers

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2022

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Excellent for anyone researching their ancestory.

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Amy

Understanding Your DNA Profile.

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2012

Verified Purchase

When I sent my DNA to Genebase in order to better find out about my maternal roots, I was suprised to find out about my deep ancesteral roots. This book gives you as much as is known about where our forefathers and foremothers came from. I was able to find out that my maternal ancestors were recent arrivals to Western Europe from the middle east. This helped to clarify the little my mother and her sister could tell us about both a mother and grandmother who died at an early age and left them orphaned. All we knew was that her family lived in Malta, were related to the king of Sweden, who was origionally a cousin of Napolean Bonaparte, spoke fluent French, designed the queen of Sweden's wedding dress, came through the port of Leverpool, and died upon the birth of her fifth child, nine months after her arrival to PA.
When I purchased Deep Ancestry from Amazon, I was able to get a more clear idea of exactly when my great grandmother came into Europe and where she lived prior to her journey to the USA to rejoin her husband.

2 people found this helpful

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Ms. C. B. Mclaglen

Deep Ancestry Spencer Wells and The journey of Man by Spencer Wells

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 10, 2014

Verified Purchase

Both these books go together. Indeed Depp Ancestry is a must because it caterlogues all the Haplogroups and shows how they are connected. This as a bit out of date but still an essential tome to help anyone understand better. So I have it as I read books by the wonderful Stephen Oppenheimer and Bryan Sykes as well. Thank to you all you wonderful scientists. I have not stopped studying the journey of man since I began in ernest quite a few years ago now. There is still so much to learn. Keep an open mind. Do not get angry. This is YOUR history from the deep past 20,000 to 150,000 years ago starting in Africa. Cynthia Allen McLaglen

One person found this helpful

Andy_SW8

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 27, 2016

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Enjoyed reading this but would not read it again...

Dr. K. Sarda

Gain an insight into our past

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2009

Verified Purchase

If there ever was one single book to read that sets out our origins - then this has to be it. The book is welll written and sets out the arguments with a great deal of clarity. A must read for those that still believe in racial superriorityand hopefully they will learn a few things and realise colour is truly skin deep. A good book for me is one that raises more questions, makes me think and sets me on a further learning journey. This book did all of that.

Krishna Sarda

8 people found this helpful

B. Colyer

Deep Ancestry

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 14, 2009

Verified Purchase

An easy read, but don't expect to learn much about how the techniques of paleoancestry are performed. The same can be said about Stephen Oppenheimer's books. Please could someone write a book telling us how it is really done! I have amassed a small library of books on DNA testing; I am now familiar with the use for genetic fingerprinting, and I have a vague idea of what Oppenheimer and Wells are writing about, but I would dearly love to read a book about the techniques. Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project

3 people found this helpful

Anna K.

A personal journey through human's genetic history.

Reviewed in Canada on November 9, 2013

Verified Purchase

It was an amazing story of the genetic history of humans through time. The end of the book has a reference section which goes through each major haplogroup. That way, if you participated in the National Geographic's Genographic project, this book can guide you and help you interpret your results.

One person found this helpful

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