Interesting brief genetic narrative which combines the history, archaeology and literature of British Isles that follows all the waves of the stone age migrations, through the iron age, roman occupation, dark ages, medieval and to present. Great fun read, especially if you have ancestry originating from the region.

The result of a very ambitious project (taking DNA samples from countless Britons and Irishmen in order to determine the genetic origin of the various peoples of the Isles), this follow-up to The Seven Daughters of Eve compares genetic evidence to accepted "history," popular belief, and oral tradition – and often reaches surprising conclusions.

Like John Sadler (author of Border Fury), Sykes is a delightful rarity in this day and age: a highly intelligent, highly educated man who writes in an engaging, popular style. Without compromising his own intellect or patronizing his readers, he relates complex concepts in simple, jargon-free English – and tells an absorbing, scientific "detective story" in the process.

I enjoyed this book very much. I don't even have that much English heritage. I just liked how he followed the genes to show how some of our ideas about the movement of people or what they were like are wrong or right.

Really enjoyed this. Not only interesting history of how Ireland and Scotland were formed and the people who are there, but the links between people in general I found really captivating and it had me doing further research.