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Book Cover for: A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes, Adam Rutherford

A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes

Adam Rutherford

Finalist:National Book Critics Circle Award -Nonfiction (2017)
In our unique genomes, every one of us carries the story of our species--births, deaths, disease, war, famine, migration, and a lot of sex. But those stories have always been locked away--until now. Who are our ancestors? Where did they come from? Geneticists have suddenly become historians, and the hard evidence in our DNA has blown the lid off what we thought we knew. Acclaimed science writer Adam Rutherford explains exactly how genomics is completely rewriting the human story--from 100,000 years ago to the present.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Experiment
  • Publish Date: Sep 4th, 2018
  • Pages: 416
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.20in - 5.50in - 1.20in - 0.95lb
  • EAN: 9781615194940
  • Categories: Life Sciences - Genetics & GenomicsAnthropology - Cultural & SocialGenealogy & Heraldry

About the Author

Rutherford, Adam: - Adam Rutherford is a geneticist, science writer, and broadcaster. He studied genetics at University College London, and during his PhD on the developing eye, he was part of a team that identified the first known genetic cause of a form of childhood blindness. As well as writing for the science pages of The Guardian, he has written and presented many award-winning series and programs for the BBC, including the flagship weekly Radio 4 program Inside Science, The Cell for BBC Four, and Playing God (on the rise of synthetic biology) for the leading science series Horizon. He is also the author of How to Argue With a Racist, an incisive guide to what modern genetics can and can't tell us about human difference; The Book of Humans, a new evolutionary history that explores the profound paradox of the "human animal"; A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction; and Creation, on the origin of life and synthetic biology, which was short-listed for the Wellcome Book Prize.

More books by Adam Rutherford

Book Cover for: Control: The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics, Adam Rutherford
Book Cover for: How to Argue with a Racist: What Our Genes Do (and Don't) Say about Human Difference, Adam Rutherford
Book Cover for: The Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything (Abridged): Adventures in Math and Science, Adam Rutherford
Book Cover for: The Book of Humans: A Brief History of Culture, Sex, War, and the Evolution of Us, Adam Rutherford
Book Cover for: Marc Quinn: Chronos & Cosmos: The State Hermitage Museum, Marc Quinnofimova
Book Cover for: Genetics: A Ladybird Expert Book, Adam Rutherford
Book Cover for: New Revelation in the Great Pyramid, Adam Rutherford
Book Cover for: Humanimal: How Homo Sapiens Became Nature's Most Paradoxical Creature - A New Evolutionary History, Adam Rutherford
Book Cover for: Creation: How Science Is Reinventing Life Itself, Adam Rutherford

Praise for this book

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 New York Public Library Book of the Day


"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
Genetics is opening up the past as never before--Adam Rutherford puts the genes in genealogy brilliantly.-- "Matt Ridley"
Adam Rutherford's A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived is the book we need.--PZ Myers
[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--so-- "Kirkus"
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
Rutherford manages to reveal fresh (and controversial) assessments of human history and dispel long-held beliefs with clarity, enthusiasm and humor.-- "Shelf Awareness"