I don't usually read memoirs, however, Mr Aaron is such a wonderful writer that I had a hard time putting this one down. He is funny and very knowledgeable and this is a great read!
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This very informative book by Bryan Sykes was easy to read, even with several sections detailing the intricacies of genetics, biological anthropology, etc. Sykes, professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, shows how good scientists, probably especially those working in genetics, glean information from a wide variety of other fields so as to help them come up with possible answers to the questions they are asking. And then there's the infighting, competition, back-stabbing and so on commonly associated with politics but very much alive in the world of science.
I was fascinated with the inventiveness and creativity of Sykes and his team of researchers in devising gizmos to, for example, drill into the tooth of a very, very old skeleton. I won't say how old.
Read the book and be prepared to laugh out loud, as I did, when you get to "Cheddar Man speaks." Sykes treats the foibles of the living with as much care and compassion as he handles the bones of the thousand plus year old dead. My only caveat is that he focuses on Europe for most of the book and rushes a bit at the end to cover the rest of the world so as to be truly writing about "our" genetic ancestry. You'll also see the possibility of a good basis for a theory as to why Western Europeans and their descendants in the U.S. have been notorious colonizers and wagers of war.
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Garlic is Life: A Memoir with Recipes by Chester Aaron
Cecile, April 2, 2007
I don't usually read memoirs, however, Mr Aaron is such a wonderful writer that I had a hard time putting this one down. He is funny and very knowledgeable and this is a great read!(0 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
The Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry by Bryan Sykes
Cecile, October 22, 2006
This very informative book by Bryan Sykes was easy to read, even with several sections detailing the intricacies of genetics, biological anthropology, etc. Sykes, professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, shows how good scientists, probably especially those working in genetics, glean information from a wide variety of other fields so as to help them come up with possible answers to the questions they are asking. And then there's the infighting, competition, back-stabbing and so on commonly associated with politics but very much alive in the world of science.I was fascinated with the inventiveness and creativity of Sykes and his team of researchers in devising gizmos to, for example, drill into the tooth of a very, very old skeleton. I won't say how old.
Read the book and be prepared to laugh out loud, as I did, when you get to "Cheddar Man speaks." Sykes treats the foibles of the living with as much care and compassion as he handles the bones of the thousand plus year old dead. My only caveat is that he focuses on Europe for most of the book and rushes a bit at the end to cover the rest of the world so as to be truly writing about "our" genetic ancestry. You'll also see the possibility of a good basis for a theory as to why Western Europeans and their descendants in the U.S. have been notorious colonizers and wagers of war.
(7 of 12 readers found this comment helpful)