List of Figures and Tables
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1. Looks Can Be Deceiving
Chapter 2. Many Trees in the Forest: The DNA Quest to Find Our
Closest Ape Relative
Chapter 3. The Great Divorce: How and When Did Humans and
Chimpanzees Part Ways?
Chapter 4. A Population Crash in the Past
Chapter 5. What Can the Genome Tell Us about Being Human?
Chapter 6. The Genomic Origins of Modern Humans
Chapter 7. The Ongoing Evolutionary Journey
Chapter 8. Kissing Cousins-Clues in Ancient Genomes
Epilogue
Glossary
Notes
Index
Eugene E. Harris is Professor of Biological Sciences and Geology at the City University of New York, and a Research Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Human Origins at New York University.
Shortlisted for the 2015 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science.
"[Harris] has written an excellent analysis of modern human
evolution from a molecular evolution perspective. [...] This is the
best book I've ever read on the subject of random genetic drift."
-- Larry Moran, Professor Emeritus, Department of Biochemistry at
the University of Toronto
"Simply indispensable for any reader wishing to learn about the
latest research on human origins." --Library Journal, starred
review
"The book is technical, thus challenging for the general reader,
but is written well enough to make the effort worthwhile."
--Publisher's Weekly
"Ancestors in Our Genome tells the amazing story of human evolution
as it has been revealed by the study of our DNA. Eugene Harris, a
rare anthropologist who has studied the differences in the DNA of
humans and other primates, has written a superb book about the
latest discoveries comparing the DNA genomes of apes and
humans-both living and fossilized . . . An enjoyable and
wonderfully enlightening read." --Jody Hey, Professor and Director,
Center
for Computational Genomics and Genetics, Temple University and
author of Genes, Categories, and Species
"In a lucid and engaging style, Eugene Harris delivers a clear
account of the latest insights in genomic studies that are giving
humans a more comprehensive understanding of our evolutionary
history, our place in nature, and where we may be headed." --Donald
Johanson, Virginia M. Ullman Chair in Human Origins and Founding
Director of the Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State
University
"It is a daunting and confusing task to make sense of the avalanche
of genetic information that has recently become available.
Fortunately, Harris's book is a concise and engaging explanation of
what we have learned about human evolution from studying genomes.
Harris clearly explains without jargon the basics of genetics and
genomics, how and when humans evolved, and what about our genes
make us different from our closest living and extinct
relatives."
--Daniel Lieberman, Chair, Department of Human Evolutionary
Biology, Harvard University and author of The Story of the Human
Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease
"In the 'Age of Genomics,' this book is an absolute must-have for
anyone interested in human evolution. In the most accessible
manner, Eugene E. Harris enlightens how and why genomes represent
such powerful evidence to understand our past. If you want to know
why paleontologists and geneticists fight over evolutionary trees,
whether chimpanzees and primitive hominins interbred after they
split, how large the first human population was, or how in modern
humans
bad genes could become good genes, open Ancestors in Our Genome."
--Jean-Jacques Hublin, Director, Department of Human Evolution, Max
Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
"Written in a very clear and easy to follow style, Ancestors in Our
Genome is notable for its inclusion of really up-to-date research.
For the uninitiated, it's a great guide to the whole subject area.
If you already have some knowledge, it delivers important insights
on the latest findings." --Evan Hadingham, Senior Science Editor at
NOVA WGBH
"Eugene Harris' Ancestors in Our Genome is an extremely clear and
readable introduction to the studies of genetics and genomics that
are advancing our understanding of our evolutionary history. He
describes, in clear prose, both the most recent discoveries in
primate phylogeny and human evolution and the methods underlying
them. Most significantly, he emphasizes how studies of population
genetics and genomic sequencing interact in interpretations of
primate and human genetic evolution." --John G. Fleagle,
Evolutionary Anthropology
"Ancestors in Our Genome provides a good basic view of modern human
evolutionary biology. Recommended." --Choice
"One of the book's laudable features is its accuracy. Errors are
common in popular science books, but not this one. Harris cites
some of the most pertinent research on the molecular foundations of
human evolution, and he is invariably true to the original
research. ... Though the effort to read this book may be
considerable for those not familiar with genomic science, it is
well worth it. Readers will come away from it with a powerful and
up-to-date
understanding of human evolution and of evolution in general."
--Reports of the National Center for Science Education
"...readers looking for an up-to-date, clearly written, and
well-illustrated tour through the dynamics of human evolution will
find no better guide than this compelling volume." --Bioscience
"...a good overview of the state of the science regarding the
genomics of human evolution." --The Scientist
"All in all, the book shines when it discuses the recent
technological advances in DNA sequencing, which allows readers a
never-before-seen view into our genetic history. ...if you are
interested in learning about the most recent findings in population
genetics and human origins, then this book is a great start." --The
Daily of the University of Washington
"Harris gives us glimpses of the science behind these amazing
discoveries of our ancestors. He explains the basics for
non-biologists before diving deep into human genomics and
population genetics. He unobtrusively notes his involvement in the
work. The writing is always clean and light in spite of the tough
concepts and jargon. The result is an incredible story of what
genes and genomes can tell us about our distant past and our
current condition." --The
Key Reporter
"[A]ccessible, informative, and entertaining. ... Ancestors in Our
Genome is impressively thorough and current and will be a great
resource to anyone interested in understanding how population
genomic theory has been used to test fundamental hypotheses
concerning the origins of our species." --American Journal of Human
Biology
"[O]n the whole this is a substantive, engaging, and worthwhile
introduction to molecular anthropology for educated nonexperts."
--Quarterly Review of Biology
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