We hope you will find at least a book or two to read from these selections.
The
Seven Daughters of Eve
Book Review by Joel
I was surprised at how easy to read this was. This is not your
typical microbiology book. This one starts off with Bryan getting the
opportunity to sample the DNA of the Ice Man, the frozen man found in
the Italian Alps. It led to his gathering samples of DNA throughout Europe
and eventually the world to see where different clans of people came from
and where they traveled.
One of the first quests he went on started as an accident. While on a
stop-over in Rarotonga, he wrecked a small rented motorcycle and broke
his shoulder. He was “stuck” there for several weeks while
the cast was set. While there, he did some research in their library on
the history of the Polynesians and got DNA samples as well. He was able
to dispel the myth that the Polynesians traveled by boat from South America.
Which was the popular theory in the 1950’s after Thor Heyerdahl’s
voyage of the Kon Tiki in 1947. He showed through DNA samples of the natives
that the true path was from Asia.
The tool that he uses is mitochondria DNA. It is the part of DNA that
is passed through the maternal or matriarchal side of the genetic family
tree. Both men and women have mitochondria DNA in their cells but only
women pass theirs on to their children because they produce the egg. Because
of this the mitochondria DNA in women is stable and can be traced back
through time. It also has a slow but fairly predictable mutation rate
that allows them to put time scales to these trees as well.
Bryan writes this much more eloquently than I can. He really has a gift
of making the subject matter easy to understand. He reminds me of Carl
Sagan in that respect. He explained how he goes about the sampling, where
they go,
and what they run into. He named the seven women progenitors, and then
wrote a fictional short bio for each one using up to date archeological
data to describe the scenes. It is very well done.
What I really liked about this book was his underlying realization that
we are all related and that we all come from the same beginnings. This
information can be used to bring the world together in ways that nothing
else can. It’s a positive message.
Joel.
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©2004-2008 by Book Reader's Traverse. All rights reserved.
Do you like this book review? Joel has written for Book Reader's Traverse since its conception in 2004. He often finds his books in unusual places, including hometown shops where he visits, and even dumpsters at times. See his comical bio and picks--Joel's Picks.
Read Behind the Scenes at Book Reader's Traverse--blog