The Seven Daughters of Eve

The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry

By: Bryan Sykes

Narrated by: Michael Page

One of the most dramatic stories of genetic discovery since James Watson's The Double Helix - a work whose scientific and cultural reverberations will be discussed for years to come.

In 1994 Professor Bryan Sykes, a leading world authority on DNA and human evolution, was called in to examine the frozen remains of a man trapped in glacial ice in northern Italy. News of both the Ice Man's discovery and his age, which was put at over 5,000 years, fascinated scientists and newspapers throughout the world. But what made Sykes's story particularly revelatory was his successful identification of a genetic descendant of the Ice Man, a woman living in Great Britain today. How was Sykes able to locate a living relative of a man who died thousands of years ago?

In The Seven Daughters of Eve, he gives us a firsthand account of his research into a remarkable gene, which passes undiluted from generation to generation through the maternal line. After plotting thousands of DNA sequences from all over the world, Sykes found that they clustered around a handful of distinct groups. Among Europeans and North American Caucasians, there are, in fact, only seven.

©2001 Bryan Skyes (P)2017 Tantor

An interesting glimpse

This audible book is a good fit for those interested in the DNA side of anthropology. It mixes modern technological finds with a quaint narrative for each character to give the listener a valuable glimpse into the time period each of the women lived in. Great find for the DNA/23 and Me curious.

a fascinating and engaging look into genetics

a fascinating and engaging look into not just what is known of ancestral genetics but also into how it is known. engaging to a layman such as myself at every turn.

Excellent listen

Clear, lucid and simply explained. Thoroughly enjoyable, satisfyingly educational and amazingly inspirational. Had me pondering off and on all day after a 20 minute session and telling coworkers and family all about it.

Fascinating but out of date.

3.5 stars. Fascinating but out of date. Originally published in 2001, the developments in the human genome mapping and the recent proof that Neanderthals did interbreed rather than be replaced are new since the publication of this book. I could have done without the made up "portraits" of his seven clan mothers and wish he had just stuck to the science, that is interesting enough without having to make up fantasy women. The author could have described how these women lived without personifying them.

Clear easy reading of complex subject

Bryan Sykes makes human evolution and the revelations of DNA easy to understand, and then imagines the lives of prehistoric humans, based on actual scientific discovery, with realistic detail. Just plain wonderful.

I learned a lot about genetics listening to this.

The book was interesting throughout, and made me hungry to more about my ancestors. Great listening.

Well written and well read

I listen to and read a lot of books aimed at lay people about genetics and human evolution, and frequently I feel like many authors are rehashing previously written material and aren't adding much that is new. So I cautiously started listening to this audio book hoping that it would be better than some of my other recent listens. I was pleasantly surprised both at the writing style, which was engaging and at the narration which was also well done. The book covers the discover and use of mitochondrial DNA to trace our maternal ancestry in a way that illuminates various aspects of human history. One thing I particularly enjoyed about this book was the author's writing style and use of story, he interweaves his personal story and personal stories of our 7 ancestral mothers to tell a more relate-able and emotional story than would have been told alone had he just stuck to the science - he added the human component to the story.

Very Interesting

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, especially if you are interested on where humans came from. I have wanted to read this book for years but did not make the time until I did 23andMe. I wanted to learn more about maternal haplogroups. I recently started utilizing audible books so I can multi-task (clean, drive, etc). I found this to be easy to listen to and I do not drift off like I have with other books.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Too much information. It is better to listen in multiple sittings.

Very interesting

I might even listen to this a second time with hope that I’ll understand even more. It is a lot to take in but very fascinating. Listening to this book has made me google info, but a 23&Me test for my husband and I and to search out a way to stay updated on what new things are discovered.

DNA ON HUMAN HISTORY

Like it, rediscovering our past with the help of DNA. Narrator was not as good as the book.