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Title: Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors
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Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
List Price: $15.00
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| Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Penguin (Non-Classics) Riveting | This fascinating book would have been impossible to write prior to the time that the human genome was mapped. That single accomplishment has given rise to various sub-specialties of science, such as evolutionary biology and genetic anthropology, which in turn are helping scientists make connections among disciplines that, taken together, reveal startling truths about we humans, both ancient and modern.
Before the Dawn offers compelling accounts of how we came to be as a species, including the human types who came before us and, tantalizingly, the types who may come after us. At points, this nonfiction book actually becomes a page-turner, such as when Wade discusses the ingenious ways that scientists have learned to trace human DNA back in time to reveal in which parts of the world today's human populations evolved, as well as the likely migration paths that our ancient forebears took as they spread out from Africa to populate the world.
One of the most interesting sections of the book is the discussion of the ways in which natural selection and a companion evolutionary process called genetic drift have worked together over the millennia to differentiate a quite small "ancestral population" of humans (about 200) into what Wade calls the "five continental races" of the world. He argues convincingly that there really are biological differences among groups of humans, that these differences are adaptations to the environment and that they are directly related to the area of the world to which one's ancestors migrated when humans originally came out of Africa.
Wade acknowledges that in taking about racial differences among humans he is moving dangerously close to discredited theories of eugenics and he takes pains to explain the science behind the new knowledge he presents. He offers several intriguing examples of these differences, such as the ability of some adults to digest lactose, that are directly linked to the type of environment in which a population evolved.
Bottom line: Before the Dawn is a great read for anyone who is interested in human origins and who wants to know something about the mapping of the human genome, which may be the greatest scientific achievement of our time.
| | Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Penguin (Non-Classics) Wow! | I bought and finally read Nicholas Wade's - "Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors" after catching references to it around the blogosphere (e.g. TDAXP)
I loved it.
This book makes an interesting pass at writing down the "pre-history" of humans mostly based upon on genetics and human DNA analysis.
Wade notes the following as the themes driving the book:
- There is a clear continuity between the ape world of 5 million years ago and the human world that emerged from it.
- A principle force in the shaping of human evolution has been the nature of human society.
- The human physical form was attained first, followed by continued evaluation of human behavior.
- Most of human prehistory occurred in, and was shaped by the last ice age.
- The adaptaions for three principal social institutions - warfare, religion, and trade - had evolved by 50,000 years ago.
- The ancestral people had a major limitation to overcome: they were too aggressive to live in settled communities.
- Human evolution did not halt in the distant past but has continued to the present day.
- People probably once spoke a single language from which all contemporary languages are derived.
- The human genome contains excellent records of the recent past, providing a parallel history to the written record.
Everybody should read this book. I am passing my copy onto my family. | | Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Penguin (Non-Classics) Brilliant Book packed with provocation | I absolutely loved this book. From the well-supported claims to the mind-blowing facts and theories on the origin of man and the course of human history, this book will keep you in the bathroom a little while longer than you need to be. ;) Mr. Wade presents everything with clarity and allows you to choose whether you want to make your way through the dense statistics and supporting points or just follow along to the punch in the face at the end of each chapter.
It's a great and insightful detective story that gives really impressive insight on the nature of our aggression, the misconceptions of early societies as well as the societal interference that scientists sometimes bring to the table that obscures good scholarship.
Really fascinating on so many levels. I recommend it to anyone who's curious about the effect of our origins on modern problems. I'd recommend it to anyone for any reason actually. ;) | | Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Penguin (Non-Classics) excellent recap of the last half century of research | | Easily the best book on evolution for the non-scientist since `Beak of the Finch'. `Before the Dawn' will be familiar to anyone who reads the NY Times Tuesday Science section - many of the discussions in the book started as articles Wade has written over many years there. Now he synthesizes those pieces and shows how a new consensus is developing and how once heretical theories like Greenberg's on language are being supported by new research in genetics and molecular biology. As others have mentioned, some of his suggestions need more support, but in a time when scientific ignorance is getting worse, this is a great book to recommend for anyone | | Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Penguin (Non-Classics) Good scientific book about the origins of man | | A very nifty book about how the latest genetic discoveries are uncovering many secrets about the origins of humankind by New York Times science reporter Nicholas Wade. Among the many issues covered, using the latest scientific discoveries, are the exodus of homo sapiens from its birthplace in Africa, the origins of language, the split of human beings among many groups. Wade doesn't even shy away from controversial topics, like the origins and meaning of race. A good companion piece to Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel", even though Diamond favors geographical determinism and downplays genes, in contrast to Wade. | | Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Penguin (Non-Classics) Product Description | | Nicholas Wade’s articles are a major reason why the science section has become the most popular, nationwide, in the New York Times. In his groundbreaking Before the Dawn, Wade reveals humanity’s origins as never before—a journey made possible only recently by genetic science, whose incredible findings have answered such questions as: What was the first human language like? How large were the first societies, and how warlike were they? When did our ancestors first leave Africa, and by what route did they leave? By eloquently solving these and numerous other mysteries, Wade offers nothing less than a uniquely complete retelling of a story that began 500 centuries ago. |
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