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Legacy: A Genetic History of the Jewish People 1st Edition

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Harry Ostrer (Author)
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Harry Ostrer (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars 26 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0195379617
ISBN-10: 0195379616
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  • Legacy: A Genetic History of the Jewish People
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (May 2, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0195379616
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195379617
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 1.1 x 5.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #877,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsFascinating and Intelligent Look at a Rapidly Evolving Field
By Sandy Hack on June 5, 2012
Format: Hardcover
It is a treat to read a book on such a complex topic that manages to maintain a balance between over-academic writing and over-simplified science. In my opinion Dr Ostrer has succeeded in bringing us a very contemporary account of a field that is continually evolving. His primary contribution to the study of Jewish genetic analysis is the Jewish HapMap project, in coordination with the Einstein College of Medicine. Jewish communities worldwide were tested and the results demonstrated that the major Jewish Diaspora groups (Sephardic, Ashkenazi and Mizrachi) form distinct population clusters with Mideast ancestry and varying degrees of European admixture. The findings are consistent with Jewish history and origins in the Middle East.

There is a lack of coherence between some of the chapters, and "Looking Jewish" is an odd title for a chapter that begins with a history of some early medical research, and discussion of migratory patterns following the destruction of the Jewish kingdom over 2000 years ago. An excellent graph illustrates the changes in Jewish population over the centuries in conjunction with relevant historical events. Despite some early [discredited] theories, anyone who has spent time in, say, Tel Aviv (with its population originating from dozens of countries throughout the world), would instantly recognize how absurd the idea of "looking Jewish" is.

For those with an interest in genetic genealogy, a wide variety of topics are discussed: the research leading to the discovery of the Cohanim Modal Haplotype (CMH), attempts to discern genetic links to King David, and the unique history of Libyan Jews. The Libyan Jewish community turns out to be extremely old, dating from around 300 BCE, and spent the last 400 years isolated from other Jewish populations.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsGood overall. Chapter organiztion was a bit strange/ confusing.
By Leib Gershon Mitchell on September 6, 2012
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
For purposes of a helpful review, I'll use the Jon Entine book, Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People for comparison. Of the two, I would definitely recommend this book more, and that is for several reasons:

1. There is also a bit of ancient history here (destruction of the Second Temple/ Hasmoneans/ etc), but not enough to make the book bloated-- and actually about 200 pages shorter than the Jon Entine book. There were a few stories around which to wrap the genetics, but they were much shorter and felt secondary to the science.

2. This particular book was actually written by a geneticist who was familiar with the meaning of the genetic techniques, and his familiarity came through in the writing. It was a scientist writing like a journalist for a popular audience and not a journalist trying to write like a scientist for a popular audience.

3. This book is much more current, and so some things have been updated. For instance: The Cohen Modal Haplotype was discussed at some length in the Entine book, but in the Ostrer book that discussion was expanded by talking about the limitations of the old model (6 markers) and improvements of the extended Cohen Modal Haplotype (12 markers).

4. There are also lots (!) of coalescence times (of the diseases and other things), which were notably absent in Entine's book.

Of the book alone:

1. In some ways, it reads like a broadside.
2. The organization was a bit strange (though the book was only six chapters, so the strange organization was not enough to destroy the whole book).
a.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe Genetic Basis for Jewish Identity
By Paul Froehlich on February 17, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
Is Jewishness best defined by religion, culture or race? For most of the past century, it been believed that Jewishness is formed by culture and religion, but not by genes. Harry Ostrer argues otherwise.

The Professor of Pathology and Genetics at Einstein College of Medicine, Ostrer published a scientific article in 2010 demonstrating a biological basis for Jewishness. New techniques in genetic analysis reveal the Jewish genome shares DNA threads. “This degree of shared genetic segments is greater among Jews than between Jews and non-Jews.”
Not everyone welcomes this news. To those who question his motives, even if not his findings, Ostrer explains that his purpose is to understand Jewish disease susceptibilities, and to understand Jewish origins and migrations. Since Ostrer is Jewish, he has an interest in constructing a sophisticated family tree.

As far as the debate about what constitutes a race and whether race exists, Ostrer prefers the term “cluster” to the more inflammatory term. He explains genetic similarity of clusters by citing a consensus view from the journal Genome Biology (2002) by N. Risch and his co-authors:

“Probably the best way to examine the issue of genetic sub-grouping is through the lens of human evolution. If the human population mated at random, there would be no issue of genetic sub-grouping because the chance of any individual carrying a specific gene would be evenly distributed around the world. For a variety of reasons, however, including geography, sociology, and culture, humans have not and do not currently mate randomly, either on a global level or within countries such as the US.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Everything occurred exactly the way I expected and the book was in fabulous condition. Thank you.

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 starsThree Stars

A little difficult for laymen, but still interesting.

Published 3 months ago by mark w.
5.0 out of 5 starsScientifically accurate book on Jewish history; perhaps the most...

I was very much satisfied reading Harry Ostrers book. I have followed much of his work on FamilytreeDNA and his DNA studies on Ashkenazi Jews. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Matthew William Cohen
4.0 out of 5 starsUnraveling the Past

Very in-depth discussion of Jewish origins, maladies that bloomed from inbreeding and many other issues. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Verbena Reverb
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat resource

My husband was thrilled with this book.

Published 11 months ago by Busy
5.0 out of 5 starsRecommended

Great book, excellent condition and very good price. Thank you

Published 16 months ago by Mark K.
4.0 out of 5 starsOn the go legacy

I am a professional population geneticist so I found the book easy to follow. However, it may be difficult to read for people who are not conversant with at least rudiments of... Read more

Published 22 months ago by Cliente de Amazon
5.0 out of 5 starsin past and now view

not just a Jewish book but good,lots of background information and politely written .all of my dna knowledge ,says he is correct there for have fun i think you can not go wrong

Published 23 months ago by me
3.0 out of 5 starsJewish Ancestry Not the Kazars.

A good book. An important book. A little dry at times, but it makes its case.

Published 23 months ago by Steve America First
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat depth without prejudice

I was able to learn very quickly quite a l about genetics, in addition to a focus on genetics as it applies to Jewish ness.

Published 23 months ago by Third Warrior

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