Who We Are and How We Got Here, David Reich
Who We Are and How We Got Here, David Reich
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Who We Are and How We Got Here
Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past

Author: David Reich

Narrator: John Lescault

Unabridged: 10 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/26/2018


Synopsis

A groundbreaking book about how ancient DNA has profoundly changed our understanding of human historyGeneticists like David Reich have made astounding advances in the field of genomics, which is proving to be as important as archaeology, linguistics, and written records as a means to understand our ancestry. In Who We Are and How We Got Here, Reich allows listeners to discover how the human genome provides not only all the information a human embryo needs to develop but also the hidden story of our species. Reich delves into how the genomic revolution is transforming our understanding of modern humans and how DNA studies reveal deep inequalities among different populations, between the sexes, and among individuals. Provocatively, Reich’s book suggests that there might very well be biological differences among human populations but that these differences are unlikely to conform to common stereotypes.Drawing upon revolutionary findings and unparalleled scientific studies, Who We Are and How We Got Here is a captivating glimpse into humankind—where we came from and what that says about our lives today.

About David Reich

David Reich, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, is one of the world’s leading pioneers in analyzing ancient human DNA. In a 2015 article in Nature, he was named one of ten people who matter in all of the sciences for his contribution to transforming ancient DNA data “from niche pursuit to industrial process.”

About John Lescault

John Lescault, a native of Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works in theater.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Always on September 26, 2020

A book that catalogues the movement and migration of human populations and the current work being done in sequencing and analyzing ancient DNA. Someone recommended this to me and I really enjoyed it. I think it was accessible but also rigorous. It mostly was an overview of the research literature in......more

Goodreads review by Ali on June 23, 2018

We geneticists may be the barbarians coming late to the study of the human past, but it is always a bad idea to ignore barbarians. We have access to a type of data that no one has had before, and we are wielding these data to address previously unapproachable questions about who ancient peoples were......more

Goodreads review by Lois on September 16, 2018

This was the book that I wanted the last book I read on the topic to be. Concentrates on the science, lucidly written, although probably best not read when one is too fatigued or sleepy. Its explanations seem as simple as possible but no simpler, which I appreciate. This is a round-up of the most re......more

Goodreads review by Clif on December 27, 2020

This book offers readers a description about the human past that has been made possible by recent technological advances in genome research. By comparing whole genomes' worth of DNA from ancient humans of various degrees of antiquity together with the data analysis power of modern computers, a pictu......more

Goodreads review by Orhan on June 23, 2021

The idea of an existence of a pure human race is scientifically dead. Geneticist, David Reich, discovers through the process of whole-genome sequencing that modern humans are a mixture of a variety of human species, where forty thousand years ago our planet was inhabited by multiple groups of archai......more


Quotes

“Reich documents an extraordinary moment in the history of science…A potential political bombshell.” Wall Street Journal

“The work in [Reich’s] lab has reshaped our understanding of human prehistory…He and his colleagues have shed light on the peopling of the planet and the spread of agriculture, among other momentous events.” New York Times

“A thrilling account of mapping humans through time and place…We do need a non-loaded way to talk about genetic diversity and similarities in populations. This book goes some way to starting that conversation.” Nature

“Thrilling in its clarity and its scope.” Guardian (London)

“[Who We Are and How We Got Here] is mostly not a controversial book, but a wondrous one. It sheds light on the nascent field of ancient DNA, paleogenetics, which is exposing the human past by tracing population histories. Give a paleogeneticist a single genome, and they will unfurl the history of whole peoples.” India Today

“Provides a marvelous synthesis of the field.” Financial Times (London)

“Charts the myriad ways the study of ancient DNA is lobbing bombs into the halls of established wisdom.” Atlantic


Awards

  • New York Times bestseller
  • Amazon.com bestseller
  • New York Times Book Review pick