Around 60,000 years ago, a man--genetically identical to us--lived in Africa. Every person alive today is descended from him. How did this real-life Adam wind up as the father of us all? What happened to the descendants of other men who lived at the same time? And why, if modern humans share a single prehistoric ancestor, do we come in so many sizes, shapes, and races?
Examining the hidden secrets of human evolution in our genetic code, Spencer Wells reveals how developments in the revolutionary science of population genetics have made it possible to create a family tree for the whole of humanity. Replete with marvelous anecdotes and remarkable information, from the truth about the real Adam and Eve to the way differing racial types emerged, The Journey of Man is an enthralling, epic tour through the history and development of early humankind.
Spencer Wells traces human evolution back to our very first ancestor in The Journey of Man. Along the way, he sums up the explosive effect of new techniques in genetics on the field of evolutionary biology and all available evidence from the fossil record. Wells's seemingly sexist title is purposeful: he argues that the Y chromosome gives us a unique opportunity to follow our migratory heritage back to a sort of Adam, just as earlier work in mitochondrial DNA allowed the identification of Eve, mother of all Homo sapiens. While his descriptions of the advances made by such luminary scientists as Richard Lewontin and Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza can be dry, Wells comes through with sparkling metaphors when it counts, as when he compares genetic drift to a bouillabaisse recipe handed down through a village's generations. Though finding our primal male is an exciting prospect, the real revolution Wells describes is racial. Or rather, nonracial, as he reiterates the scientific truth that our notions of what makes us different from each other are purely cultural, not based in biology. The case for an "out of Africa" scenario of human migration is solid in this book, though Wells makes it clear when he is hypothesizing anything controversial. Readers interested in a fairly technical, but not overwhelming, summary of the remarkable conclusions of 21st-century human evolutionary biology will find The Journey of Man a perfect primer. --Therese Littleton

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

Genealogy buffs, this book is an absolute must. Coupled with the DVD it would be a great teaching tool. I am a genealogist but:

If you have any interest in who you are and where you came from, this DVD and book are absolute musts. By the time you have watched the DVD you will want to read the book. It will be just a small step away from immersing yourself in genetics. I would recommend this book highly. From there, I will welcome you into my world of dead people and genealogy. Do you remember in high school how we would try to remember what your parents had said about other generations, other relatives who lived far away? Now, you... more info

HAVE THE BOOK & VIDEO, & HAD DNA TESTING DONE:

THE BOOK AND VIDEO COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER VERY WELL. BOTH BLOW AWAY BRYAN SYKES BOOKS SEVEN DAUGHTERS OF EVE, ADAM'S CURSE, BLOOD OF THE ISLES, SAXONS VIKINGS & CELTS. BUT SYKES BOOKS WERE DONE BACK IN THE 90S WHEN DNA RESEARCH WAS JUST TAKING OFF. SPENCER WELLS BOOK & VIDEO ARE RIGHT UP THERE WITH DR HAMMER'S RESEARCH, SAMPLING, TESTING, & DATA COLLECTION FROM ALL OVER EUROPE, ASIA, & AFRICA.
MY PATERNAL PAPERTRAIL WENT BACK TWELVE GENERATIONS FROM USA TO IRELAND & TO SCOTLAMD. MY... more info

the journey of man: a genetic odyssey:

This book is not only interesting, but well written and based in hard science, with fresh information obtained first-hand by the writer. It is brief and easy to read for the general public. It would have helped having more graphics, maps or other type of information. I recommend it.

DNA based human migration:

A very nice book if one is interested in understanding how DNA analysis is being used to trace human migration and from where it started. This whole subject is about tracing back whatever factual information can be used to reconstruct our traceable origins.
It is a hard read in certain areas especially if you are mostly illiterate about DNA and its link with genealogy.

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