A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes Hardcover – October 3, 2017

The author really seemed to go off the rails by the second half of the book. I couldn't finish it, hence the one star. The first half regarding DNA studies of early humans was interesting enough, but by the point where he seemed to be arguing that there's no such thing as racial differences or that selective breeding has no effect in human populations (evidently because: we are the world, we are the children, etc.), I had to put it down. The author evidently has some kind of chip on his shoulder because of his half-Indian British background that pushes him to see things through a secular PC lens. Disappointing.

This was an interesting read. It was a little disappointing that genes really are not that informative for a single person but are best described through populations and associated population statistics. The author has a real problem with Christianity and creationists, so much so, he takes every opportunity to share his opinion of them and their intellectual abilities. It was distracting.

While many of the points in negative reviews of this book are well taken, I found the author's approach to the subject to be fascinating. I find the book poorly titled, as it covers much more ground than just the history of our species. The author rightly debunks much of the popular media hype about the impact of genomics in medicine and genealogy, yet he reveals many lesser known and fascinating applications of modern genomics in fields such as human ancestry, revisiting the nature vs nurture question, the geographical migration of Homo sapiens, and their interbreeding with other hominids along the way. Who knew that gene sequencing could tell us much more about human dispersion than archeology? The book becomes a bit Brit-centric in some places (but after all the author is from Great Britain) and some of the chapters could do with some editing, but overall I found this book to be surprising in its broad content and the many interesting revelations of the impact of genomics on what we are finding out about ourselves now, as well as what will be forthcoming in the future.

Whether or not it is a genuinely fun or captivating book, A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived demystifies many of the popular misconceptions surrounding the genetics and natural history of humans, and is a good read for anyone wanting to understand the limitations of using DNA to describe who we are and how we came to be. A recurring theme of the book is the tendency of parties to communicate oversimplified or sensational interpretations of genetic research for the purposes of selling newspapers, personalized genetic tests, or even as part of an elaborate legal defense. Rutherford picks apart the often weak scientific evidence supporting such claims, and in doing so provides much of the background and strategy one would need to critically examine a purported ‘scientific breakthrough’ resulting from genetic research. There are also some fun parts sprinkled in about genetics as it relates to human history and prehistory, but readers looking for a lot of, or a highly detailed description of this information will probably be disappointed.

The book presents an update on the advances in the study of DNA. Most of that is good, although some technical terms are not fully explained. It is cluttered with the author's personal baggage on race, religion and political correctness. Some of his arguments are circular. For example, intermarriage between close relatives caused the downfall of the Hapsburgs in Spain, but is a minimal risk for Muslims. Race is said to have no meaning, but DNA from Asians, transferred to mice, caused thicker hair and smaller breasts The first half of the book is the best. The second half is more about PC than science.

My name is Chloe, Ben is my father, and he bought me this book for Christmas. I've always been interested in genetics and heritage. In fact, my mother bought me an Ancestry DNA kit for Christmas, fitting for this theme. In college I have studied anthropology, archaeology, and biology, so I already have some background about what this book is about, but there was so, so much more for me to learn. From the beginning of the book I was enthralled. It is interesting - to say the least- as well as well written, entertaining, informative, and so incredibly funny. I can not stress how refreshing it is to read a history/science book that is funny. So often academic books are stuffy and boring, but this one is probably my favorite. Rutherford feels like someone you know. He shares his life and his experiences about his family in such a way so you don't feel like "okay, this guy is talking about himself too much," but in a way that feels so relatable. If you like anthropology or biology or are just curious to read about a little bit of history, read this book. Absolutely wonderful read, have already recommended it to multiple other people.

This book traces the history of homo sapiens through our DNA. It is mostly about genetics and genomics, and is addressed to the lay reader. This doesn't make it an easy read, but I found it a worthwhile one. The key point that it brought home to me was just how complicated human genetics really are. The idea of a "cancer gene" or an "intelligence gene" vastly oversimplifies; Rutherford makes it clear that many, many different genes affect most traits (including susceptibility to most diseases) rather than the simple one-to-one equivalence that a lot of popular writing implies. I found it an informative and accessible read about a complex subject.

Well written and readable story of the gene and the scientific research that has lead to our understanding of our genetic history up to the very recent breakthroughs of DNA sequencing. Some parts get a bit tedious and detailed; such as his list of letters in gene sequencing (pages 281 - 283); but it can be skipped without missing the main story..There is also quite a bit if personal history and information that adds little to the main points; and he tends to be a bit repetitive;. with the same information appearing in various chapters.He has a section on the science of inheritance, in particular if violence is an inherited trait, ; and uses mass-murder-shooter Adam Lanza as one example; but discount genetic inheritance as a direct consequence; though temperament and irascibility is inherited to a degree. That does not mean that such a child will develop into a murderer, or even a criminal. He makes a good point on page 323 that there would no shootings if they didn't have guns.

This is a great book. Written in a breezy fashion but loaded with lots of scientific tidbits that will make you a big hit at the water cooler. I wish he gave more details about the mechanics of these discoveries but that’s a minor point. Great read!

an easy, amusing, well-written style about the latest research into dna revelations. The description of "bush" rather than "tree" clearly explains how closely, in time, we are related. I was particularly interested in the origins and political implications of native American ancestry.

I purchased this book to deepen my knowledge of DNA. I recently had Ancestry DNA done and thought it would give me an overall view of this science. The book exceeded my expectations.

Readable account of a wide ranging amount of material