Where Do We Come From?

From the moment we first began to contemplate the world, three questions have occupied our minds: Where do we come from?, What are we?, and Where are we going? Artists, religious thinkers, philosophers, and most recently scientists have all searched for answers. Here, the authors describe how scientists decipher human origin from the record encrypted in the DNA and protein molecules. After explaining the nature of descent and the methods available for studying genealogical relationships, they summarize the information revealed by the molecular archives. In doing so, they draw conclusions about our identity, our place in the living world, and our future.

Review :
From the reviews of the first edition: "This is a beautiful and beautifully written book about molecular approaches to the study of evolution. The authors love of science and their belief in straightforward reporting pervade the book. As the authors intended, this is the book that intelligent people, willing to put a little effort into it, should read to learn about the current state of molecular perspectives on evolution. It is a masterful piece of work and I recommend it without reservation." (Henry Harpending, BioEssays, Vol. 26 (6), 2004) "In their new book, Where Do We Come From? The Molecular Evidence for Human Descent, the authors merge literary, artistic, and mythological perspectives on human origins with a comprehensive look at the molecular evolutionary history of our species. The result is a wide-ranging, and very impressive, textbook . While written with the nonspecialist clearly in mind, anyone with an interest in human evolution, and the molecular data that relate to it, will find much to occupy and entice them in this book." (S. M. Fullerton, Heredity, Vol. 90, 2003) "The title for this most fascinating and well-written book comes from the title of Gauguin s last great masterpiece, D ou Venons-Nous? Que Sommes-Nous? Ou Allons-Nous?, painted in Tahiti in 1897 . The painting, which is reproduced in the book depicts the myth of creation . The book is lavishly produced, is over 450 pages long and includes dozens of tables, graphs, maps and other figures. Where do we come from? would be an excellent textbook for college/university students studying genetics." (Trefor Jenkins, Human Genetics, Issue 111, 2002) "Jan Klein is a renowned immunologist . His new book is co-authored by Naoyuki Takahata . It tells the story of human descent on Earth over the past four billion years . This book contains an enormous amount of information, and anyone who masters the entire book would know a great deal about human evolution as well as molecular evol