Online: A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold…

…Through Our Genes (2017) by Adam Rutherford, Siddhartha Mukherjee, 416 pages [Biology]

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• Library: https://fcplcat.fairfaxcounty.gov/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=764136{CKEY}&searchfield1=GENERAL^SUBJECT^GENERAL^^&user_id=WEBSERVER

Please note: we will be meeting online for this meeting. Please follow the link in the description or visit http://virtual.restonwriters.org/ to join the meeting.

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of October 2017: Our obsession with where we come from has recently leapfrogged past the genealogy efforts of retired relatives to mail-in DNA tests that can provide the broad strokes of our genetic makeup for less than $100. But, as Rutherford points out in his intriguing exploration of humankind, DNA tests offer only a sensationalized peek at our roots, and the tangled, still-evolving truth is far more fascinating. Armed with his disarming British wit, Rutherford delves into the migration, interbreeding and isolation, and extinction of hominid branches that has shaped the modern human. Holes in our fossil record and the lack of DNA in fossils we’ve actually found still make genome research a challenge, yet the more we learn, the more we have to change our perception of who Homo sapiens are and what we’re made of. Challenging the simplistic thinking bolstered by the media, Rutherford adds both nuance and the thrill of excitement to viewing our species through a wider, stronger lens that can now see deep into our past. —Adrian Liang, The Amazon Book Review
Review
• A National Bestseller
• A National Geographic Best Book of 2017
•An Amazon Best Book of 2017
• 2017 Foreword INDIES Gold Winner
• Winner of the 2018 Thomas Bonner Book Prize

“A family portrait for all humanity… This enjoyable book has a great deal to say about our genetic code—or, more precisely, about how our knowledge of genetics is misused and misconstrued… [Rutherford] proves an enthusiastic guide and a good storyteller.”—The Wall Street Journal

“An effervescent work, brimming with tales and confounding ideas carried in the ‘epic poem in our cells.’ ”—Guardian

“Rutherford raises significant questions and explains complex topics well, engaging readers with humor and smooth prose.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A sweeping new view of the human evolution story, using the latest science of DNA as the central guide… Recommended.”—Scientific American

“Rutherford unpeels the science with elegance.”—Nature

“A shining example of science writing at its best… will change the way you think about human evolution.”—Newsday

“Adam Rutherford’s book is well-written, stimulating, and entertaining. What’s more important, he consistently gets it right.”—Richard Dawkins

“One of my big obsessions as a reporter is our expanding understanding of our genetic history, thanks to incredible advances like sequencing Neanderthal genomes. Rutherford, a British geneticist and journalist, presents a great survey of this fast-moving field.”—Carl Zimmer

“[Rutherford’s] head-on, humane approach to such charged and misunderstood topics as intelligence and race make this an indispensable contribution to the popular science genre.”—Apple’s iBooks Best Book of September 2017

“Provides a good survey of the science of genomics and how it's changing the story of human evolution.”—Forbes

“An enthusiastic history of mankind in which DNA plays a far greater role than the traditional ‘bones and stones’ approach, followed by a hopeful if cautionary account of what the recent revolution in genomics foretells… Often quirky but thoughtful—solid popular science.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived is equal parts informative, engaging, and frequently surprising—a must-read for fans of big-picture popular science.”
—Jennifer Ouellette, author of Me, Myself, and Why: Searching for the Science of Self