Publisher Description
WASPs finally get their due in this stimulating history by one of the world’s leading geneticists.
Saxons, Vikings, and Celts is the most illuminating book yet to be written about the genetic history of Britain and Ireland. Through a systematic, ten-year DNA survey of more than 10,000 volunteers, Bryan Sykes has traced the true genetic makeup of British Islanders and their descendants. This historical travelogue and genetic tour of the fabled isles, which includes accounts of the Roman invasions and Norman conquests, takes readers from the Pontnewydd cave in North Wales, where a 300,000-year-old tooth was discovered, to the resting place of “The Red Lady” of Paviland, whose anatomically modern body was dyed with ochre by her grieving relatives nearly 29,000 years ago. A perfect work for anyone interested in the genealogy of England, Scotland, or Ireland, Saxons, Vikings, and Celts features a chapter specifically addressing the genetic makeup of those people in the United States who have descended from the British Isles.
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“This is intended for a general public, not for the specialist. Just about everything the British reader needs to know about the genetic and archeological evidence about the origin of the British peoples. It’s very clear, well organized, I liked it a lot. The only thing about this sort of book is that two weeks later I hardly remember a date, a region, a fact — so one really ought to have this book on a bookshelf or coffee table and have the whole family read it and discuss it. And it probably ought to be re-read once a year.”
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Cheztoche (5 out of 5 stars)
