Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
W. W. Norton & Company (2007), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 336 pages
Description
A study based on a decade-long DNA survey traces the genetic makeup of British Islanders and their descendants, ranging from prehistoric times to the genetic heritage of Americans of British descent.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Larxol
There is some interesting science here, but perhaps not enough to justify a book. The methodology and conclusions could have gone into a normal journal article (and probably did, at one time). The book is more about how the work was done, with some history of the British Isles thrown in. I was left
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feeling it had been padded quite a bit to get up to book length. Show Less
LibraryThing member annbury
Another rambling walk through history, as revealed by genetics, with Bryan Sykes. Sykes has a bothersome habit of combining really interesting genetic and historical information with a lot of superfluous material on his travels.
LibraryThing member nocto
A fascinating book about the genetic history of the British Isles as seen through our mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomes. The author spends a long time talking about our history as seen through fable, story and oral history, the kind of thing you might think was just pie in the sky made up by our
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ancestors to sound good (or bad as desired). I found these history lessons a little longwinded but it was enthralling when they were linked up with the evidence from our genes. Show Less
LibraryThing member LMHTWB
Saxons, Vikings, and Celts examines the origins of the people on the British Isles. The legends and written histories are given in detail. Much of those accounts are corroborated by the genetic testing which the author did.
Overall, I found this book to be mildly interesting, but annoying and
Additionally, since I was listening to the audio version of this book, I was frustrated by the reader, Dick Hill. He would speak in a normal voice, then speak very softly for dramatic effect, and then back to normal for the point. This might work if I had been listening in a quite room, but I was driving. The quiet parts were generally lost. Eventually, I gave up trying to hear them and assumed if whatever he was saying was important, he would say it in a normal voice.
I'll probably listen to this again just because I commute so much and I run out of books to listen to, but I would not really recommend it.
Overall, I found this book to be mildly interesting, but annoying and
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tedious in spots. The author carefully goes through the histories of each group of people, such as the Irish. This takes up the bulk of the book, but it's something that I already knew and I suspect most people reading this book would already know. Another large part is how the blood was collected, which was interesting but this gave the book more of a travel log feeling than a presentation of scientific findings. The large conclusions on the genetic origin is in the second half of the very last chapter. Since it was the topic of the book, I would have liked to seen it discussed more.Additionally, since I was listening to the audio version of this book, I was frustrated by the reader, Dick Hill. He would speak in a normal voice, then speak very softly for dramatic effect, and then back to normal for the point. This might work if I had been listening in a quite room, but I was driving. The quiet parts were generally lost. Eventually, I gave up trying to hear them and assumed if whatever he was saying was important, he would say it in a normal voice.
I'll probably listen to this again just because I commute so much and I run out of books to listen to, but I would not really recommend it.
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LibraryThing member Familyhistorian
Bryan Sykes has a way of taking the science behind genetic roots and making it more understandable. He does this once again in "Saxons, Vikings, and Celts". In this book Sykes combines the story of the early days of genetic genealogy with the history of the Isles, which he divides into Ireland,
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Scotland, Wales and England. He uses the history of the areas as the blueprint for the genetics for the different populations in each division of the Isles. I found this book especially interesting as this is the area of my ancestry. Of course, I wanted to know more and the book does refer to a website if the reader wants more information. Unfortunately, the website is no longer in operation. Show Less
LibraryThing member FKarr
Best part of the book was the mythology and ancient histories of origin and settlement and then the comparison of more verifiable history. The genetic history was a little thin and relied a little too much on the author's other works.
LibraryThing member PhyllisHarrison
Bryan Sykes is a respected DNA researcher who started his string of popular books with The Seven Daughters of Eve and Adam’s Curse. Recently I finally got around to reading DNA USA and Saxons, Vikings and Celts. In the latter book, he has a fascinating dissection of the many different areas of
Saxons, Vikings and Celts is a little dated in that Sykes mentions that there has been no Neanderthal DNA discovered in humans yet, a discovery that was just a few short years in the future from the time of publication. Toward the end of the book, Sykes writes “For every fact I have shown you, I have a hundred more in reserve.” I wish he had given me more facts and less travelogue. While it is somewhat interesting to learn the methods of collection and challenges, he goes on and on at length about the people in the clinics and quaint little towns and there is a very long and eye-glazing narrative on the earliest kings, despots and rulers. The discussion of maternal clans that he mentions would have been helped greatly with more information in the table and at least a summary discussion on haplogroups even though he covered this subject in detail in his earlier books.
I found the appendix and maps to be the most interesting part of the book. Sykes might just do two books instead of one next time, one for those of us more interested in the facts and research, the meat of his work, even if it a shorter book without the folksy filler. He could do the other book for those who want the travelogue which I found to be tedious. Sykes has also been looking into Bigfoot DNA and there are those that disparage this use of his time and talent. I admire his intrepid spirit and willingness to look into any subject that pertains to DNA for the answers to age-old questions. I am always willing to give his publications a look.
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England and Scotland with some interesting conclusions about the probable history of human settlement in the region. He traced Scots lineage as well as the Irish, English and Celts and compares “Viking” DNA to European DNA. In particular, I found his conclusions on the MacDonald clan fascinating. It is always interesting when we can extrapolate probable history from scientific fact. Saxons, Vikings and Celts is a little dated in that Sykes mentions that there has been no Neanderthal DNA discovered in humans yet, a discovery that was just a few short years in the future from the time of publication. Toward the end of the book, Sykes writes “For every fact I have shown you, I have a hundred more in reserve.” I wish he had given me more facts and less travelogue. While it is somewhat interesting to learn the methods of collection and challenges, he goes on and on at length about the people in the clinics and quaint little towns and there is a very long and eye-glazing narrative on the earliest kings, despots and rulers. The discussion of maternal clans that he mentions would have been helped greatly with more information in the table and at least a summary discussion on haplogroups even though he covered this subject in detail in his earlier books.
I found the appendix and maps to be the most interesting part of the book. Sykes might just do two books instead of one next time, one for those of us more interested in the facts and research, the meat of his work, even if it a shorter book without the folksy filler. He could do the other book for those who want the travelogue which I found to be tedious. Sykes has also been looking into Bigfoot DNA and there are those that disparage this use of his time and talent. I admire his intrepid spirit and willingness to look into any subject that pertains to DNA for the answers to age-old questions. I am always willing to give his publications a look.
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LibraryThing member mbmackay
A fascinating read, but I was left feeling a little short-changed. The book is better in its description of the process of collecting and analysing modern British DNA, than it is in linking those samples to earlier peoples of the British Isles. That accurately reflects the scientific reality, but I
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couldn't help feeling a little short-changed - I think the blurb and the hoopla raised my expectations too far. Show Less
Language
Original publication date
2006 (copyright)
Physical description
336 p.; 5.5 inches
ISBN
0393330753 / 9780393330755
Local notes
Bryan Sykes is the Director of Oxford Ancestors and a professor of human genetics at Oxford University.