A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived

Science is proving that we are indeed one human family

The use of DNA to trace family history and heritage through using services such as Ancestry DNA and 23andMe have become very popular recently. However, the completion of the Human Genome Project during the first decade of the 21st century not only spawned the field of genetic genealogy, it has also become a powerful tool for anthropologists and historians. In this book, Rutherford shows how scientists are teaming up with social scientists to use DNA analysis to understand human migrations throughout history. These new discoveries have served to fill in many holes in our understanding of the development of human life on our planet.

These findings are interesting; however, I really liked this book because it sheds light on an important biological paradox. Each of the Earth’s 7.5 billion inhabitants is genetically unique. However, these biological differences, which make each of us unique, are so tiny that science has virtually proven that artificial groupings based on race and ethnicity have no basis in reality. They are social constructs which are not genetically significant. I think this is welcomed news for a society that is often in turmoil due to the fact that we tend to separate into groups and show bias toward each other based on differences in our outer appearances.

Readers who are interested in science, history and anthropology will enjoy this book. The author does a good job of presenting complex scientific concepts in a manner which is easy to understand.