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 | | Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland by Bryan Sykes ISBN-10: 9780393330755 ISBN-10: 0-393-33075-3 ISBN-13: 9780393330755 ISBN-13: 978-0-393-33075-5 Paperback 2007-12-17 W. W. Norton & Company Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description From the best-selling author of The Seven Daughters of Eve, an illuminating guide to the genetic history of the British Isles. One of the world's leading geneticists, Bryan Sykes has helped thousands find their ancestry in the British Isles. Saxons, Vikings, and Celts, which resulted from a systematic ten-year DNA survey of more than 10,000 volunteers, traces the true genetic makeup of the British Isles and its descendants, taking readers from the Pontnewydd cave in North Wales to the resting place of "The Red Lady" of Paviland and the tomb of King Arthur. Genealogy has become a popular pastime of Americans interested in their heritage, and this is the perfect work for anyone interested in finding their heritage in England, Scotland, or Ireland. . | ||
Reviews | ||
YOU WILL NEVER GET THIS BOOK! DO NOT ORDER THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON. It may be the most interesting book in the world, but you will never receive it. They claim it will ship in 1-3 weeks. I ordered a copy on Nov. 18. It is now more than 3 weeks (their LONGEST estimate) and it still has not shipped. I will never order anything again that doesn't say "in stock" on it. I can't even cancel this book because it was part of a larger order that qualified for free shipping. I've already been charged and may never get the book, but if I cancel it, they'll go attach additional charges for shipping to the other item I ordered. I feel ripped off! I can't find any way to contact amazon about this, so I'm posting this review as a warning to others to NOT ORDER it from amazon. | ||
The Epic of Ancestry! In the 19th century, there was much preposterous nonsence blathered about in Europe by nationalistic professors of history. Utilizing some largely mythological sources of information, they tried in vain to create an argument for the presumed superiority of their own particular nationalities. On the lighter side, this led to some rather buffoonish proclamations of "cultural-supremacy". On the darker side, this led to Naziism. Modern DNA studies have just barely scratched the surface of a much more fascinating truth. In a region such as Europe, the prospect of an individual, or an ethnicity, being "racially pure" is actually quite absurd. Consider the vast movements of people all over the continent, over two milennia. Dr. Sykes gives us yet another fascinating study of the DNA role in anthropology. This time, the focus is on the British Isles. Whether you have any heritage from that area or not, this book will open your eyes to consider the great Epic of which your ancestors played a part. YOU are the result! YOU have a role in continuing the story! Your descendants will thank you! | ||
very little actual genetics This is a very strange book. Despite the title, there is very little actual genetics here, and the author goes so far as to repeatedly denigrate the very science he practices. While it's true that science relies on numbers and technology which may be confusing to people who aren't used to dealing with them, that its strength-- the evidence that his conclusions are valid depends on the numbers. So while I would agree that reducing the various genetic ancestors to numbers has a tendency to dehumanize them, it's those numbers that allow us to know something about them, and to therefore restore humanity to people whose lives have been lost to time. It's also worth noting that, presumably, someone wouldn't pick up a book with "genetics" in the title without expecting to encounter science. So the embarrassment that the author conveys every time he mentions anything remotely scientific seems misplaced. Indeed, I wished there had been more science! That said, the few genetics chapters (4-5 of 18 of them, though the one on England is quite short) are interesting. Tracing mtDNA and Y-chromosome markers does provide an important piece of evidence in interpreting things like migrations and other kinds of culture contact in the past. However, it's hard to evaluate his conclusions when there is so little data included. In particular, it is really unconscionable, and almost unethical, to not have a single reference included in the book. Sykes has clearly used the work of many, many other scholars, including archaeologists, historians, and other scientists, and these scholars have the right to have their research acknowledged. But there are virtually no clues for the reader where he got 99% of the information. I would imagine that Sykes would be upset if someone did the same to his work. The rest of the book seems to be little more than padding, to allow him to get a book out of the few chapters that actually talk about genetics. I suppose you could argue that the history of the study of race or blood groups is tangentially relevant to a book on genetics, but taking pages to talk about the history of the Royal Irish Academy, the archaeological sites of Newgrange and Skara Brae, or the details of the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings seems pointless. These topics are all quite interesting in their own right (I'm an archaeologist, and I know that the sites are important), but they contributed nothing relevant to the discussion. Knowing when people arrived in Ireland is necessary, but a description of the site at Mount Sandel isn't. The necessary prehistory and history could have been dealt with in a few pages, and hardly required a chapter for each part of "the Isles." So in the end, I was disappointed in the book overall. If you're looking for information on the genetic background of Britain and Ireland, there are a few places here and there that summarize what may well be important contributions to the study of the past in both places. But there isn't enough detailed information in the book to be useful by itself, and there are no references so the reader can follow up with more technical publications. In the end, I was sorry I bought the book-- I could have got what I wanted from it by borrowing it from the library and xeroxing the few relevant pages that actually talk about the genetics of ancient people in Britain and Ireland. | ||
Saxons, Vikings & Celts..... This was purchased as a gift for a person who has most of Brian Sykes books. The recipient was most pleased with receiving it. | ||
Genetic History of the British Isles This is truly an engaging book about population genetics as regards to Britain and Ireland. Professor Bryan Sykes succeeds in explaining complicated scientific conclusions to help us understand humanity. Where have we come from? It is a must read for those of us who care! Dag Stomberg St. Andrews, Scotland | ||