Around 60,000 years ago, a man, identical to us in all important respects, walked the soil of Africa. Every man alive today is descended from him. How did he come to be father to all of us - a real-life Adam? And why do we come in such a huge variety of sizes, shapes, types and races if we all share a single prehistoric ancestor? In this fascinating book, Spencer Wells shows how the truth about our ancestors is hidden in our genetic code, and reveals how developments in the cutting-edge science of population genetics have made it possible not just to discover where our ancestors lived (and who they may have fought, loved, learned from and influence) but to create a family tree for the whole of humanity.

The Journey of Man : A Genetic Odyssey

Politics & Social Sciences

Spencer Wells

Anthropology

Penguin Books, Limited (UK)

In the Western world we are more comfortable than ever before. So why aren't we happier or healthier? Spencer Wells uses the latest research to show the answer lies in our hunter-gatherer roots. Settling 10,000 years ago may have led to modern civilization, but it also opened a Pandora's box: everything from our sweet tooth to stress, environmental problems and terrorism can be usefully traced back to the mismatch between genes and lifestyle. On a globe-trotting journey, Wells illustrates how we can learn from our ancestors how to thrive in the future.

Pandora's Seed: Why the Hunter-Gatherer Holds the Key to Our Survival

Science & Math

Penguin??Books

Around 60,000 years ago, a man--identical to us in all important respects--lived in Africa. Every person alive today is descended from him. How did this real-life Adam wind up father of us all? What happened to the descendants of other men who lived at the same time? And why, if modern humans share a single prehistoric ancestor, do we come in so many sizes, shapes, and races?
 Showing how the secrets about our ancestors are hidden in our genetic code, Spencer Wells reveals how developments in the cutting-edge science of population genetics have made it possible to create a family tree for the whole of humanity. We now know not only where our ancestors lived but who they fought, loved, and influenced.
 Informed by this new science, The Journey of Man is replete with astonishing information. Wells tells us that we can trace our origins back to a single Adam and Eve, but that Eve came first by some 80,000 years. We hear how the male Y-chromosome has been used to trace the spread of humanity from Africa into Eurasia, why differing racial types emerged when mountain ranges split population groups, and that the San Bushmen of the Kalahari have some of the oldest genetic markers in the world. We learn, finally with absolute certainty, that Neanderthals are not our ancestors and that the entire genetic diversity of Native Americans can be accounted for by just ten individuals.
 It is an enthralling, epic tour through the history and development of early humankind--as well as an accessible look at the analysis of human genetics that is giving us definitive answers to questions we have asked for centuries, questions now more compelling than ever.

The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey

Princeton University Press

THE JOURNEY OF MAN : A Genetic Odyssey

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Allen Lane.

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Books by Spencer Wells