This book is mandatory reading for anyone interested in knowing the insights brought to bear on human history by the modern science of genetics. The author accomplishes nothing less than a comprehensive review of previous knowledge in the light of recent developments. The subject is riveting: where did we come from? What is human nature? Are we changing? These questions and more are addressed and plausibly explained. To think that in these times, when DNA is a known scientific fact and the human genome has been completely decoded, there are people who doubt human evolution, is to wonder at the human capacity for self-deceit. Knowledge advances but the ignorant turn away.

The tone of the book is relentlessly objective but still, several controversial subjects are addressed with conclusions that are perhaps surprising. For example, academics have refused for reasons of political correctness, to consider whether some human groups may be more intelligent than others, as a result of evolutionary processes. Read the book to learn an intriguing hypothesis. Another example: until recently respected historians denied that Thomas Jefferson had a second family with the slave Sally Hemmings; genetic analysis has shown there is a high probability that he did. And don't overlook the comment that another ice age is sure to follow (global warming notwithstanding?). We are presented other examples of cherished beliefs that fail to hold up in light of genetic analysis; and don't we all love it when the Emperor is shown to have no clothes?

In the end the book is one of synthesis, not an original scientific work. The great value added by this author to our understanding is a clear, unbiased view of what is known, what may be surmised and what is false, in the light of modern scientific discoveries. We are provided the tools necessary to bring Darwin up to date. Like it or not it is clear that we are human animals, subject to all the same influences as the other beasts. Grant that we accept things we cannot change and change what we can improve. ( )

fascinating, easy to follow ( )

From acclaimed New York Times science reporter Nicholas Wade, a lively narrative of the much more detailed story that can now be told about human pre-history — the period from 50,000 to 3,500 BCE, when we began to talk, started to wear clothes and then left Africa to populate the rest of the world — due to an explosion in the last five years of findings in a host of fields, including linguistics, archeology, and paleontology and genetics. ( )

(posted on my blog: davenichols.net)

Science journalist Nicholas Wade has delivered an exploration of human genetics in the spirit of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel. Wade works backwards in time, using genetic clues to discover knowledge about prehistoric human societies. Before the Dawn offers a breadth of knowledge about current genetic research into human populations and migrations, and draws some fascinating conclusions about the rise and dispersal of early human societies.

Wade's narrative largely follows research into genetic variations found in the Y chromosome and in mitochondrial DNA. These variations, the distribution of which allows researchers to track common ancestry and branching, are used to narrow the likely periods of human movement out of Africa to points beyond. A bit of time is spent on the earliest culturally modern humans in Africa before moving on latter periods of migration and settlement. Potential interactions with hominid relatives is discussed, as is the impact of various cold spells and ice ages.

Wade explores social behavior as well, showing how researchers have applied darwinian natural selection and genetic drift to account for both universal and isolated behaviors. Later, language is considered, with significant caveats as to its effectiveness in signalling fundamental shifts in human population. The discussion on race is well crafted. Wade does not bow to social pressure in describing genetic variations found among the races, including a fascinating discussion of the intellectual prowess of Ashkenazi Jews. Just to be clear, Wade is not advocating superiority of any race, he wants only to point out that there are significant data indicating genetic differences of isolated human populations can produce measurably different abilities.

I found Before the Dawn to be fascinating, and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the Pulitzer Prize-winning Guns, Germs, and Steel. Wade may not be a scientist, but he has conducted a thorough investigation into the ongoing research of population genetics and offers the reader a tremendous treat of science and history. Five stars. ( )

The subtitle of the book is quite apt as Mr. Wade really conveys the admiration and true affection he has for all of the "peoples" he describes, whether they be our direct ancestors or not. It is his feelings for these beings that turn the book into something more than a summary of the science our our evolution. In this sense, his work is very close to Bronowski's The Ascent of Man and, in a more perfect world, be required reading in every high school in the country (and in every church as well). ( )

An outstanding summary and analysis of interdisciplinary efforts that uncovering our prehistory. I especially enjoyed the review of how scientists (geographers, geneticists, linguists, paleontologists, etc) are coordinating there efforts to uncover a emerging picture of our prehistory. Some of the background material regarding the history of language was a bit long and detailed (but I don't have a strong background in this area). I would read this book along with Jared Diamonds: Guns, Germs and Steel. They are excellent counterpoints. ( )

Interesting view into our genetic genealogy and how we can know about a past that hasn't yet been discovered archaeologically. ( )

In Before The Dawn, Nicholas Wade tells the story of human evolution and migration that began five million years ago, when the first humans split from the apes, and continues today, with evidence showing that humans are still evolving. A second thread in the book tells how the new science of genetics is changing what we know about our history and the way we study it. Genetics is reaching outside biology into fields like linguistics and the social sciences, and is making controversial new assertions about racial and cultural differences.

Popular presentations of evolution often make it appear to be a linear progression: apes to Neanderthals to humans to cyborgs or whatever the futurists tell us. Wade shows how this is wrong, as Darwin knew. The proper picture is of a very dense tree, with us perched on only one branch among millions of close neighbors. The human line of evolution has had many branches and may generate more in the future. Just 50,000 years ago the physically modern Homo sapiens shared the planet with three other types of humans -- Neanderthals, Homo erectus, and the recently discovered Homo floresiensis. We don't yet know whether these others simply died out or were exterminated by our ancestors.

Genetics is allowing scientists to trace the heredity of a person living today back to the original groups of humans that migrated out of Africa 50,000 years ago. Your DNA fingerprint no longer identifies just you -- it now points to all your ancestors too. Scientists can trace paternal and maternal ancestry through your Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA respectively. You can have this done for free by sending in a cheek swab to National Geographic's new "Genographic" project. In return they'll tell you which ancestral lines you belong to and place a dot on their map. The numerous privacy disclaimers and FAQs on their website indicate just how uneasy we might be if this information fell into the wrong hands. It's a short distance from lineages to concepts like pedigree and racial purity.

Wade writes that scientists are now able to measure genetic differences between virtually any groups that have lived apart. When distinct behaviors or characteristics emerge they inevitably get written into our genes and passed on. This means that geneticists can detect statistical differences between races and cultures, the implication being that this puts to rest any debate about race being a social construct. Wade similarly implies that critics of sociobiology and genetic determinism will at last be silenced (though the opposite seems to be true, as a recent highly critical review of the book in Nature shows).

Wade warns us rather dramatically that "however discomforting such findings may be, to falter in scientific inquiry would be to retreat into darkness." But this is admitting a rather strong faith in a very new science. Many of these findings date from 2003 or later, and the newness shows. Often Wade's descriptions feel qualified and tentative. A recent New York Times article by Wade told of a Miami professor of British descent who had his DNA analyzed using these methods. The results showed that he was descended from Genghis Khan of all people. Surprised, he got a retest, and learned that the first result was wrong.

Even when the bugs are worked out, it's unlikely that genetics will ever have the kind of explanatory power that many are assuming it will. Biologists are well aware that genes are only part of the story. Genetics is an important science, but we shouldn't take it as the last word.

(Reviewed for Bookslut: http://www.bookslut.com/nonfiction/20...) ( )

What a fun read! The author takes on the subject of human development and makes it incredibly accessible and readable. The book is chocked full of illustrative examples. It takes a very scholarly subject, and brings it to the layman very well (without making me feel stupid).

The explanation power of this book is amazing. It seems like what I've read in this book applies to so many different fields. Hardly a week goes by where I don't read something, and realize I already have an insight into that topic from reading this book. ( )

Excellent narrative of Man's recent pre-history through genetic research. ( )

http://funkywoodjam.blogspot.com/2007... ( )

sought out this book because the topic intrigued me, a new report on the pre-history of humankind based on evidence of DNA analysis. The idea is to survey differences in mitochondrial DNA and the Y-chromosome for accumulations of changes, trying to project back the variations to when the genome broke along a different path. The DNA data suggest that a single group of humans passed from Africa into Arabia about 50,000 years ago, moved along the Indian Ocean coast, and only gradually displaced Neanderthals from Europe. He also discusses evidence for races, geographically determined, and for language and social structure origins. Well written, very engrossing. ( )

evolution ( )

In my experience, it has been hard to find good, popular books about the evolution of human beings. The most interesting books I’ve found on the subject are Jared Diamond’s “The Third Chimpanzee” and “Guns, Germs and Steel.” Nicholas Wade’s new book “Before the Dawn” is an excellent addition to that short list, bringing us up to speed on what scientists are currently saying about human origins and prehistory. Reporting on a wide range of research, including paleo-anthropology, genetics, and historical linguistics, Wade provides us with a comprehensive story of how our ancestors became anatomically, and then behaviorally, human.

What seems to be different about Wade’s account of prehistory is his pervasive use of genetic research as the final arbiter when there is a conflict among scientific disciplines. The conclusions drawn by paleo-anthropologists and historical linguists are either confirmed by a genetic line of reasoning, or called into question. As a result, Wade flirts with controversy by suggesting that the emergence of art in the caves of France and Spain, some 32,000 years ago, was probably the result of genetic influences, implying that distinct human characteristics, such as art and cognitive capacities, have evolved in distinct population regions. This is the kind of reasoning that “Guns, Germs and Steel” was trying to remedy. However, Wade offers the qualification that, although distinctly human qualities may have developed in one population at an earlier date, these characteristics, which truly are universal, have evolved convergently. This is a common idea in evolution, one good example being the wing. Insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats have all received the anatomy of the wing through 4 distinct lineages. In other words, evolution has hit upon the idea of wings four different, independent times. Humans, according to Wade’s line of reasoning, may have evolved the capacity for art and culture through selective pressures at the local level, when anatomically modern humans had already left Africa and occupied the Eurasian and Australian continents.

Another point of divergence between Wade and Diamond is the issue of human settlement. Diamond’s book tells the very interesting story of the first domestication of grain in the Near East, which consequently lead to a settled way of life. Evidence now suggests that humans began sedentary village life as long as 18,000 years ago, much earlier than the first era of agriculture and stock rearing in the ninth and eighth millennia BC. Not surprisingly, Wade offers a genetic explanation for the origin of settlement. Apparently, it is commonly held that behaviorally modern people have existed for about 45,000 years, meaning that they displayed the basics of human behavior, art, religion, and presumably language, and have not evolved significantly since. Wade, on the other hand, espouses the opinions of biologists who think humans have continued to evolve in the past 45,000 years, and human settlement may therefore have been the result of some particular evolutionary adaptation.

Wade goes on to offer a genetic explanation for racial development, a tack that has been highly criticized since mid-20th century, for good reason. Scientists do not currently study race as a biological phenomenon, but Wade cites recent medical studies that point to a biological basis for understanding the races.

This book is sure to draw criticism simply because of its controversial content, but is a fascinating read for anyone interested in human evolution. ( )

If you’ve ever thought about having your DNA tested to find out about your genetic background, this book will provide some of the background you will need to understand your test results. Brings together the many strands of recent research that you may have heard in bits and pieces in the past few years. The National Geographic Society offers a DNA test here: https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ge... ( )