Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project

Another early reviewer win.

I found this book absolutely fascinating. I have a family member participating in the National Genographic Program and I really enjoyed reading about the genesis of the program and its goals for the future. The one gripe I had was the difficulty in reading the charts, but as someone who works in publishing, I know that advanced readers' copies always have low-resolution art, so I wasn't surprised by this as it's always the case. I'll just go the Web site of the project and see what's there in terms of charts and maps and such.

The case studies were also interesting in providing meaty stories of specific haplogroups. And the specifics in the back of each haplogroup were great, especially the lists of each marker show more leading up to the current one.

I'd wanted to become part of the project before, but now I'm definitely going to take part. I have a fairly good idea, based on what's prevalent in what areas, what haplogroup I'll fall into, but I always could be one of those very odd cases. One never knows. show less

A great layperson's view of the incredible genome project undertaken by Nat Geo and an incredibly talented group of scientists. I've seen Spencer Wells in person, and i think the only thing he does better than lecture is write. He makes a fabulously complicated scientific discipline fascinating, readable, and truly exciting.

It's a story of science, but Wells makes it a story of individuals and families, giving it a layperson scale. It's such a great reminder that we are all family.

"Deep Ancestry" is a good introduction to the field of using DNA analysis to determine patterns of human migration over tens of thousands of years. I now have a far better understanding of the difference between Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA, and the way in which variations within each of the type of DNA can be analysed to obtain a hierarchy or timeline. The stories of some of the participants in the Genographic Project provide helpful illustrations of the knowledge that can be obtained. Some of the technical details have been oversimplified, and I had trouble finding the answers to some of my nagging questions for detail. Some were answered by a closer re-read of the book, others by searching the web, others by asking colleagues show more working in the area, but there are still a few unanswered! show less

I was very interested in this book because I had taken part in the Genographic Project in late 2006 by contributing a DNA sample. The DVD and nationalgeographic.com website were highly professional and I expected Deep Ancestry to expand upon the information found there. Unfortunately, Dr. Wells tends to write in a rambling style, jumping from subject to subject without explanation. He covers DNA and the Y chromosome (basic high school biology) but doesn't bother to give us a clue how genetic markers or variants are identified or named until halfway through the book. He does describe population movements well. There is a brief Glossary and a few recommended readings and websites. The same descriptions of the haplogroups can also be found show more at the Genographic website. The whole thing feels like an outline of what could have been a much better book — indeed, Dr. Wells says "The story told in this book is just a brief overview of where the Genographic Project is today." The Epilogue lists some fascinating questions the Genographic Project team hopes to answer during the next few years. As the Project continues I hope a much more interesting book will be forthcoming. show less

This book is excellently written. It is concise and simple, but also intelligent and it explores deep topics. It makes the huge concept of using DNA to discovery one's ancestry easy to grasp. And it wasn't boring--trust me, I know that science can be boring when it's written poorly about. Wells is not a boring writer!
I highly recommend this book if you are considering learning more about what modern science is accomplishing. Plus you get to learn all these amazing new facts, like why humans evolved to be better than Neanderthals, and when agriculture was invented, and how people migrated to Australia and the Americas! Read it and it will not waste your time!

An engaging survey of the deep past of family history, far beyond when the birth dates and death dates are no longer a matter of record and have petered out. I'd taken the test and given the results to my father and brother for Father's Day a few years ago. Even if you can't parse some the arcane genetic details -and it all became Greek to me past a certain point- you can gain much just by learning in broad outline about provenance of your progenitors. I found the book to be, not a great scientific romance, or great scientific literature, but a fairly decent exposition about the conjunction of anthropology, genetics, and genealogy.

Deep Ancestry: inside the genographic project is really 3 stories in one. First, it is the tale of the movement of human populations, using genetics, archeology, climatology and other tools to discover this history. Next, it tells the story of the genographic project, how the project came to be, what the goals are and what the next steps will be. The third story is that of the DNA itself - how DNA works, what the geneticists are looking for that helps them identify certain groups of people, and exactly how different we are from one another (not very much, as it turns out).

Each chapter starts with the story of an individual, including their ethnic background, their participation in the project, and their genetic markers. It is a good show more organizational structure, grounding the book firmly with the human story the project is telling.

The final chapter explores the places that need future study, including the specific questions that need to be asked and the scientists who will be conducting the research.

The lengthy appendix goes into detail about the the various genetic groups, indicating where the populations are found today, the history of their movements, and any unanswered questions about the lineage.

The review copy I received has very poor quality graphics, making the maps and diagrams almost impossible to read.

Overall I thought the book was extremely well written and organized. It is a short introduction to a subject I'm not too familiar with, the explanations of the genetics were very well done. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I look forward to hearing more about the project. show less