The Seven Daughters of Eve

Rating:
Summary: Book is good but an ego trip
Review: Let me explain somethings good about the book.It offers good, informative info about the Neanderthals not being our direct ancestors (but this is the second weakest of it's good points as the fact that neanderthals aren't anywhere in our direct background was made too well known years before this book's publication). Book covers the 1917 CzaristRomanov mystery and how genetic studies solved it (but this is the weakest of it's good points as that's not important or interesting to even anywhere near mostly all Europeans. Also, the book has a great section about Jasmine, the fictional Syrian lady who founded the neolithic line of Middle Eastern farmers who trekked on into Europe. Less successful is the other six stories about the other ladies as all of their six stories largely resemble each other. Actually to quite a few readers (myself not included) none of these stories work at all as stone age historical fiction is a difficult concept for many to grasp. I recommend the seven chapters on the "seven daughters" even though they are not much genetically informative until near the end of each chapter. But that's the best that can be said! Like all books on genetics on nationalties and races Sykes's book comes up short on desired facts which is especially disappointing in his case considering he didn't have the whole human race to cover just 500 million Europeans and their around 500 million descendants the rest of the world over or, in othr words, just one sixth of humankind. But the book's main reason for not being twice as informative as it was on the subject of European DNA is that Mr. Sykes is far too busy relating to his own life story and the book is a real ego trip of his. In fact one becomes almost hard pressed to find a page (in the first of the half of the book, before getting to the seven "daughter" chapters) where Sykes doesn't devote some space to some life experience of his in either conferring with scientists or conducting genetic experiments. There were ways he could have easily have kept the info on the experiments and conferences on a more informative level and without blabbing on and on (and on!) about his own part in them so much. Also, a little more talk (and charts) on how exactly biologically one nationality of Europeans was related to another European nationality would have been great too. We don't get to learn,for example, how genetically close the Swedish are to the Greeks. Some of Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza's genetic books are much more informative than this ego trip.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Book
Review: The book takes a very complex scienfic subject and presents the story in a very readable, understandable, and entertaining way. Very educational and fun at the same time.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book! Accessible science for non-scientists
Review: First of all, this is not a book for those already thoroughly familiar with the workings of genetics. Yes, this book is written in a very popular style but I do not believe this is a flaw, but rather its strength. I found Prof. Sykes' writing style extremely engaging and enjoyable, and quite literally could not put this book down.

He manages to draw the reader in and share his great excitement on his journey of discovering the secrets of DNA. He discusses his DNA analyses on the "iceman" discovered in the Alps, the Cheddar man discovered in a cave in southern England, and even on the bones of the Tsar of Russia, and how all of these led him to realize how DNA analysis could be applied to the greater question of how we are all related. He also naturally adds chapters on what exactly DNA is and how it works, but these are never dry or boring.

The seven chapters in which Sykes fictionalizes the daily life of the seven women he has traced to be the common maternal ancestors of most Europeans are the weakest part of the book. However, while I share reviewer D. C. Smith below's doubts about the monogamous nature of prehistoric male-female relationships and while those lines he cited in his review did have me cringing a bit, overall I would have to say that even these chapters served their purpose quite well, as after reading them I have a much clearer idea of the KIND of existence that these women would have lived. The only drawback I can see is if people take these chapters literally, and after having their own DNA analyzed begin seeing themselves as the descendant of the actual individual depicted in these chapters. These seven chapters are only intended to give us an IDEA of how they lived.

In conclusion, I'd have to say that I really did enjoy this book very, very much and have no problem with giving it a rip-roaring rave review! I hope that soon we will see further works providing more detail on the other maternal clans outside of Europe tantalizingly introduced in this book's final chapter.

In the mean time, I can't wait to have my own DNA analyzed by Prof. Sykes' labs at Oxford at the service listed at the back of the book, and find out just where my own ancestry fits into the big picture. I know it sounds extremely corny to say this, but I really do feel this book has to a tiny extent changed my life!

Rating:
Summary: Only bad thing about this book is the title...
Review: A well written book about one aspect of the genetic history of the family of humankind, the title is truly misleading - the 7 daughters of Eve refers to her white European "daughters", leaving out the 26 other branches of her family, which are merely mentioned in this book.

A very easy to read book, despite the large amount of scientific material. The author's evidence of our common ancestry is very compelling, and entertainingly presented.

Rating:
Summary: Princess Anastasia and the Neanderthals
Review: Was Anna Anderson really the elusive Russian Princess Anastasia? Did the Neanderthals evolve into the Cro-Magnon or get displaced by them? These are just some of the questions that this book answers. That's right -- answers.

Do not be misled -- this book is about science, the impact of DNA, to be precise. For a lay person (and this reviewer is most certainly one), the scientific discussion may fly over one's head. But this book is definitely worth the read. In the short period humans have begun to understand DNA, DNA has solved some of our great mysteries. And will solve many more no doubt. This book is an exposition not just of these mysteries that have been solved, but also of the technology and methods that provided the solutions.

Advice to the lay reader: think of the mutations in human DNA as the lines in a tree trunk. As the tree trunk lines reveal the age of the tree, the mutations show how long ago two living beings shared a common ancestor. With that in mind, sit back and enjoy this episode of "Solved Mysteries."

Rating:
Summary: Tracing Our Ancestry
Review: I find The Seven Daughters to be an outstanding popular exposition of a really fascinating new area of science,despite the many flaws so lovingly described by other reviewers. Because I think people should read this book, I'd like to warn potential readers of two issues that I haven't seen discussed yet. (I haven't read all the reviews.)
First, Sykes suggests that members of each of the seven clans might have an instinctive ability to recognize one another. This is scientific nonsense, of course, and nonsense with possible racist overtones.
The second is perhaps a more serious lapse. Sykes has established that the paleolithic European population was not replaced by the neolithic farmers who entered Europe from Anatolia about six thousand years ago. His mitochondrial DNA studies show that only about twenty per cent of modern European genes come from this source. He then draws the unwarranted conclusion that the infiltration of the farmers brought about a peaceful transfer of technology. This conclusion is contradicted by the linguistic data, which show that in all but marginal cases the languages of modern Europe arrived with the invaders. These new languages must have been imposed by the Indoeuropean conquerors. As we still see today, people are strongly resistant to giving up their linguistic identities. Compulsion is by far the most common reason for them to do so.
Conquest by technologically superior minorities is a commonplace of history. Plato's Republic describes the efforts of one such minority to maintain its power long after the conquest had taken place. Modern examples abound, for example in contemporary Iraq and Rwanda.
Some reviewers have dismissed the book because Sykes fails to maintain a consistent scientific attitude. I think readers should be aware of the problems, but I strongly recommend it as an excellent introduction to the flourishing new science of anthropological genetics.

Rating:
Summary: History in our very genes...
Review: Sykes explains how mitochondrial DNA can be used to tell a history of mankind (from the women's point of view). He carefully explains how this can be done and how it came about. His story about this important discovery is full of interesting details, everything from the Ice Man found in the Alps, the genetic history of hamsters, the Tsar, the Pacific islands, the use of blood types and even a story about the Chedder Man's toe.
He is able to trace European DNA to seven women, seven Clan Mothers!
In the end, his book is both history and drama, with facts mixed with humor. Bryan Sykes is a person who truly enjoys his work and enjoys sharing his work with others. Just under 300 pages and VERY hard to put down once you start.

Rating:
Summary: Top-notch scientific survey, with bizarre fictional chapters
Review: The first 200 pages of this book exemplify the best of scientific journalism: the author describes a difficult subject matter clearly and succinctly for those who don't know much about genetics, he presents each scientific investigation as if it were a detective story, and he conveys his excitement and enthusiasm for his work. Anyone who reads this book will come away with enough knowledge about mitochondrial DNA and prehistoric humans to understand today's headlines. Sykes explains how DNA testing identified the bodies of the Romanovs (laying to rest fanciful stories about how they survived the Russian Revolution), he rebuts Thor Heyerdahl's theories of migration, and he presents a convincing case that all humans of European ancestry are descended from seven women. (He also discusses the possible ancestries of non-Europeans, for which--so far--there is far less evidence.)

Given how compelling and fun the majority of the book is, nothing prepares the reader for what comes next: seven chapters containing fanciful and completely fictional reconstructions of each of the "daughters of Eve." Sykes admits he cannot even be sure of where or when each of these women may have lived, but he reconstructs little soap operas out of the nonexistent facts of their lives; these New Age-inspired outtakes from "Clan of the Cave Bear" do not succeed even as good fiction. "Xenia was born in the wind and snow of late spring." "This year Helena's father was going to try a spear-thrower and detachable point for the first time." "Velda had a strong artistic streak." "Tara had always been a fast runner and her father, fit though he was, was gaining on her slowly." (Tara even "invents" a boat.) He fabricates entire families and children, births and deaths, relationships and tragedies for each of these women, even though he knows for certain only that they each had two daughters. For the most part, I found these chapters embarrassing and unreadable.

If Sykes wanted to speculate for the reader where, when, and how each of these women lived, he certainly could have done so in a scientific framework and made it interesting. For example, he could have presented what we know from the archaeological record about their approximate eras and possible environs. (I would in particular like to know what evidence, if any, scientists have uncovered to imagine that prehistoric societies featured mostly monogamous relationships, which figure prominently in Sykes's stories.)

Fortunately, Sykes turns his attention back to the science in the last two chapters. Overall, except for the fictional chapters, this is a first-rate survey. I do wish, however, that the author had added a bibliographical essay or general notes, both to support his arguments and to suggest where readers might turn, now that he's managed to enlighten us on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: A great read for the science and non-science enthusiast
Review: Dr. Bryan Sykes has written a superb account about a complex situation of how humans are more related that previously thought in a water cooler style that is easy for any one to understand. He puts the detail accounts of his discovery of the relations in mitochondrial DNA into a story style that can be conversed at a coffee shop. As a science enthusiast, I found it informative and educational. As a reader, I found it fascinating and believable.

Rating:
Summary: Out of Africa
Review: Genealogy is a fashionable subject. People dig up old archives and trace their ancestry to the last visible boundaries. They also like to imagine who they were in their previous lives (always someone important). The catch there is that any traceable genealogy goes back only for so many generations. The best possible results, realistically achievable only if you belong to some royal family, go back a thousand years. With gaps, blots, smudges and dubious paternal issues. Besides, in this man's world of ours, it is almost impossible to track down the maternal line of your family beyond what your great-grandmother remembered, if you were lucky to have one.

However, there is one gene, the mitochondrial DNA, which is preserved almost untouched through countless generations for many thousand years. And it is transferred exclusively along the maternal lines.

Dr. Sykes's book traces the ancient ancestry of all Europeans, reducing their multiple lineages to just seven women who lived scores of thousands years ago. They are our genetic proto-mothers. If you are curious enough, you can even try to find out whose descendant you are.

These seven women, in their turn, are remotely connected to a woman who lived long, long before them somewhere in Africa, and who was the possible direct ancestor of all now living human beings. So, in a sense, we are all indeed brothers and sisters. And our common relatives lived much more recently than previously thought.

"The Seven Daughters of Eve" destroys any biological notions of race or nationality, demoting them to pure statistical abstractions. The mitochondrial trace is, of course, just one of numerous other possible lineages - remember, there had to be an unbroken sequence of daughters all until your mother for this gene to end up in your body. But it only makes the point stronger: should we try other routes, the number of our inter-relations will only increase. We are even more closely related than the mitochondrial story suggests.

Dr. Sykes did not invent either mitochondrial DNA analysis or population genetics; he just combined the two, and, using these powerful tools, made several important discoveries. For example, his findings confirmed the Asian provenance of Polynesians, as opposed to American origin (which was a controversial but vocal hypothesis, advocated, among others, by Thor Heyerdal); disproved the well-established view that the original population of Europe was overwhelmed and supplanted by intruders from Near East; and showed that all modern Europeans - actually, all modern people - come from a common (and recent) African source, and did not develop independently in Asia, Europe and on other continents from apelike ancestors. The Neanderthals, who lived in Europe side by side with humans of modern built, and even had slightly bigger brains than we do, did not leave any progeny; they died out completely. We are not their descendants. We come from Africa.

There are other amazing stories, and each of them made front-page headlines at one point or the other; the Oxford-based team of Dr. Sykes discovered living descendants of the Iceman, found in the Alps, and of the Cheddar Man, found in English caves; and they contributed to the identification of the remains of the Russian royal family, executed by Bolsheviks in 1918.

It is evident that Dr. Sykes is a brilliant person with a thing for the limelight. His narrative skills are beyond praise. He manages to make genetic experiments understandable and clear to anyone with just the vaguest recollections of school chemistry. He recounts stories from his own life without irritating the reader. He even manages to weave in a hint of dark secrets without revealing them - what had happened between him and his assistant Erika, who later emerged as his bitter enemy? The subject matter of the book is, after all, a detective story - a story of lost ancestors and rivalling schools of anthropologists; but it was so easy to make it dull and tedious. Sykes avoids this trap completely. Brilliant.

His only serious flop is when he starts describing hypothetical lives of the seven women who lived eons ago. It's not very good fiction; and - it's fiction, which is completely out of place in a book like this. And he says so little about modern descendants of each of these women - which for me was the most interesting part of the story - that it is remarkably anticlimactic.

Apart from this minor nuisance, the book is a gem. I would love to see any kind of follow-up, because it is very hard for anyone outside the genetics to understand whether the methods Dr. Sykes used were foolproof. But if the story of Eve's daughters is made of scientific facts, it heralds a dawn of a new history for us - which would not destroy or refute existing history, but serve as a counterpoint and a different outlook on eternal questions: where are we from, who are we, where are we going.