8th–10th grade reading level, easy to understand, accessible and interesting material without being "dumbed down." Being a nerd and geek in general, but especially about languages and linguistics, I was somewhat underwhelmed overall yet pleased with the data presentations. What I mean is that I was conscious in advance that I would be reading about subjects with which I already had a more-than-passing familiarity. However I wanted to start with earlier works before plunging into successively more recent and demanding material, including later books by the duo Cavalli-Sforza. What I appreciate most about this book is the numerous examples of applied research. Nothing in academia is more pleasant than reading how different academic fields interpret data differently and separately and then reassess said data with a more cross-discipline approach. This book is also already twenty-years old and primarily about scientific subjects advancing rapidly; and therefore some of the data presented has become more "obvious" to us thanks to hindsight. I would encourage any prospective readers to remember that the genetics and historical linguistics covered were still new in the eye of the general public and have "evolved" (no pun intended) a great deal in the intervening years. Nowadays we are all relative experts in genetics compared to the common knowledge of the early 1990s Public.
Not having yet finished the last chapter nor moved on to later works by Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, I have questions regarding creoles' effects on said studies. The yet fledling field of study of creoles and pidgins remains highly contentious, so I'm not sure there is much to be said other than that there will likely be some major changes made to linguistic family trees. Consider, for example the potential ramifications of the as-yet barely hypothesized notion that Ancient Egyptian may have been a creole, and by extension some, if not all, semitic languages could never be traced through solitary inheritance but is itself a hybrid—the implications when comparing such data to genetic data is curious and compelling. I hope I live long enough to see some good research in genetics, archaeology, and linguistics that heed such possible hybridization. Did somebody say "neanderthals persist?" :)
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Wonderful foundation to further exploration of the story of humanity as traceable via genetics and historical linguistics.
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Eric le rouge
Fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 6, 2011Verified Purchase
Miff
book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2015Verified Purchase
MRS BEATE SHILTON
Poor condition
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 31, 2018Verified Purchase
RWalker
Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2014Verified Purchase
Karel Kovanda
This book is fascinating on its treatment of how languages ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 19, 2017Verified Purchase
