This is a good read, fascinating and well told. Who wouldn´t be interested to know that everyone in modern day Europe was born of seven mothers: seven clan heads who had no idea they were mothering the entire continent?

The hows and whys of why of this are answered in the book, told in a kind of grandfatherly, gentle, humble way by Sykes. Included in the ride is a debunking of the Kon Tiki explanation of the populating of the South Sea islands and a fairly simple to understand background in what exactly DNA is and why we can use it to gain an amazing insight into history. Truly, there are great changes coming in how we understand ourselves thanks to the ability to now know, for certain, the early story of our violent, incredible species.

Throughout the book are little knockout nuggest: it might have been one woman who walked out of Africa, for example, and populated the rest of the world. How mind boggling is that?

But it´s four stars instead of five for me because of the structure of the book. It begins perfectly and reaches halfway with barely a glitch, but then, once the main theory is outlined, becomes padded out near the end. My feeling is the publishers thought there wasn´t enough information in the first book - the discovery part - to leave it as a standalone. Instead we get interesting but jarring chapters on each "daughter of Eve" and a conclusion which reads more like journalism. There are really two books here - the history of Europe and the history of the World told through DNA - but that can´t be summed up and sold so snappily.

"There is no such thing as a genetically pure classification into different races," Sykes notes near the end. None of us are different, genetically speaking. We might "believe" in religions, money or countries, but they are artifical, imaginary constructs. At bottom, despite walls, wars, bans, divisions, cars, houses, guns, colours, flags and all the other bullshit, we´re all just one big squabbling family. And that´s a scientific fact.

I have been reading Saxons, Vikings, and Celts by the same author but have put it aside so that I can finish this book!!!
I am a Sociologist by training with an emphasis on Anthropology so this is of real interest to me.
Sykes writes for the average person but is of great interest to the professional.
As some of the reviewers noted, the last half of the book is what the author imagines the lives of these "clan mothers" must have been like. Personally, it helps the non-scientific reader understand the concepts.
I am not a "science snob" and read this book because of a personal interest, not scientific research information.

I snatched this book up in a used book store specifically to learn more about mitochondrial DNA, tiny little packets of genes inside a cell that are passed down the maternal line with a mutation only once in every 10,000 years or so. What does this mean? It means that my siblings and I all share the exact same mitochondrial DNA as my mother, and her mother, and her mother's mother's mother. My brothers did not pass that little M-DNA packet to their children as it is only in the egg, not the sperm; M-DNA is not swished around when a sperm and egg combine (X and Y chromosomes recombine, but M-DNA does not) as there is no sperm-M-DNA to recombine with, so that little packet of history remains practically identical for thousands of years.

One of my favorite chapters was how using this brand-new testing (in the 1990s') for M-DNA from bones helped determine the final resting place of the Russian Romanov family who were murdered in 1918 and left in a hole in the Siberian forest. By extracting DNA from the bones, and then testing for mitochondrial DNA, scientists discovered that there was, indeed, a family. A mother and 3 daughters, the father of those 3 daughters, and 3 unrelated adults (doctor and 2 servants). By testing living relatives of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna (meaning, living descendants of her SISTER), and testing other living relatives of Tsar Nicholas' MOTHER (Maria/Dagmar of Denmark), they were able to determine that yes, this family was the Romanovs. ISN'T THAT SO FASCINATING! I think it's fascinating. The idea that I am carrying history from my mother's mother's mother's mother's mother, back hundreds of generations, sends my feminist heart all a flutter.

So, I *loved* learning more about M-DNA, how it was discovered, the studies and testing that have happened in my lifetime to figure out what exactly it is and how we can trace it. However, "The Seven Daughters of Eve" is SUPER misleading, because Sykes is really only talking about the seven matriarchs whose M-DNA has populated the majority of EUROPE. Throughout the world, there are just about 30 different "clans" of M-DNA that have survived. So, that was annoying. The very last chapter Sykes talks a little more about those other lines and how they may have spread. But the vast majority of his book is about the M-DNA of the 7 women who, anywhere from 10,000 to 45,000 years ago, were the head of surviving dynastic maternal lines which have thrived and are currently found in the vast majority of Europeans (and sometimes, only in Europeans).

Loved it! More than two decades since it was first published, this book still has fascinating and relevant scientific information presented in a way that the average person can understand.

As a fan of prehistoric fiction, I also loved the second part with the imagined stories of seven different maternal haplogroups, even though my own ancestor, Wilma, (W5a) wasn't represented here.

This book has inspired me to delve a lot deeper into my maternal and paternal haplogroups to discover the migrations of my most ancient ancestors.

First half is fascinating science, second half speculative fiction
Bryan Sykes, a geneticist at the University of Oxford, has specialized in the study of mitochondrial DNA through the matriarchal side to explore human evolution and the origins of different human populations. He began by extracting and multiplying ancient DNA samples from fossil bones, and then was involved with mapping the genome for the prehistoric Otzi the Ice Man, discovered perfectly preserved in the Italian alps, who lived around the third millennium BC.

This first half of this book is a fascinating explanation of DNA, RNA, chromosomes, and the human genome in the context of our earliest origins, and with a focus on the seven major mitochondrial haplogroups that can be traced back to seven clan members and that form the original female ancestors of all modern Europeans. It's a daring premise, but as he sticks to the science of genetics and explains it very clearly for the layman science enthusiast, I felt like I understood it during the course of the book. He talks about the efforts to determine if the final remains of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia of the Romanovs, murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918, were actually legitimate, and delves into a number of other examples to illustrate the power of mitochondrial DNA to reveal the true origins of various European ethnic groups over time.

The second half is quite a departure, as he names the seven "clan mothers" Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Velda, Tara, Katrine, and Jasmine and then imagines what their lives would have been like in early prehistory. It wasn't what I was expecting from this book on human genetics, as it is largely speculative although based on all the archeological evidence of the living conditions and artifacts and flora and fauna prevailing at those time, along with their likely cultural and social group behavior based on what we know of prehistorical tribes. Again, it was interesting but a much weaker part of the book, and when you consider how important the science of genetics is, I would have preferred that he focus his book on that. It's still a very interesting book and fit well with my recent reading in the area of evolutionary biology and prehistory.

I’m fairly certain I missed something. So there was some talk about mitochondrial DNA, but not anything that those who read wouldn’t already know. For some patronizing reason the reproductive fertilization process was pretty deeply discussed because obviously no one knows the fact that the male has anything to do with gender. Now I’m just now realizing the author seems to be just randomly telling stories about the various homo categories (I’m sorry I don’t know how all of those groupings are titled I just know each is homo something). Maybe if this dude stuck to the science instead of his imagination I’d learn and appreciate more. As it is I’m getting a bedtime story.

Procházím zrovna fází budování rodokmenu a pustil jsem se při tom i do testování DNA své i blízké rodiny. Je to mimochodem celé hrozně zajímavé a padají z toho i nečekané výsledky, doporučuji všem to zkusit.
Kniha jako Sedm dcer Eviných, která se právě studiem DNA a původem nás Evropanů zabývá, se v takovém okamžiku samozřejmě hodí. A celou první polovinu knihy jsem také spokojeně vrněl, zatímco pan Sykes čtivě a srozumitelně vyprávěl o svých dobrodružstvích s mitochondriální DNA, o původu Evropanů, migracích a podobně. Pak se to ovšem trošku zvrtlo. Jak naznačuje název knihy, autor nás vede k myšlence, že veškerá evropská populace pochází ze sedmi žen, které postupně zalidnily svými potomky celý světadíl. A druhá část knihy nám má ve zkratce představit jejich život, abychom za výzkumem DNA neviděli jen zkumavky a laboratoře, ale konkrétní lidi, ze kterých naše DNA pochází. Snaha asi chvályhodná, ale horší je provedení, tohle prostě není Sykesova parketa.
A dále, když jsem ve skupině Genetická genealogie vznesl dotaz na názor odborníka na tuto knihu, byly reakce v nejlepším případě krajně zdrženlivé. Zastaralé, zavádějící, místy úplně nesprávné už v době vzniku...
Přesto si myslím, že zejména kvůli té první polovině knihy určitě stálo za to, si ji přečíst. Řadu nových věcí jsem se dozvěděl, na další mě to navedlo, dobře se to četlo a jako úvod za mě výborná věc. Aktuálnější poznatky si doplním v dalších knihách, na které už mám doporučení. Teď se pouštím do Zrození Evropanů a ve frontě už čekají Stručné dějiny každého z nás.

Relatable way to understand a complex scientific discipline. Brings some interesting moral and ethical debate!

This is a very interesting book. It is very well written. Bryan Sykes explains the science involved in his story in a very interesting fashion.

It is fascinating and mind-boggling to imagine that as few as seven women could be ancestors of a whole continent of Europe. The author makes it clear in his book, that these seven women were not the only women of their times. Also, he explains that they were ancestors by maternal lineages only. There must be many other women who are ancestors of millions of people living today but they are not linked to them by maternal lineages only. In last 50, 000 years some women in their family trees may have had only male children and thereby maternal mitochondrial DNA would not recognize them. The title of the book uses the word `EVE' which may prevent many people from understanding this concept and they may not differentiate this idea from the biblical `EVE'.

I wish the author had given some details about the mutations in the mitochondrial DNA in these seven `Eve's. I would like to know at what levels these mutations had occurred and how many mutations each one carried. He has given those details for Polynesian people. But, the book's title deals with seven women who are the ancestors of European people and the mutations in the mitochondrial DNA in these women 'is' the central part of the story. He has, unfortunately, not given those details. Simply stating that the mutations occur once every 10 thousands years is not sufficient.

It is still a fascinating work and makes us think how genetics can help archeology in reconstructing our past.

After enjoying DNA USA so much, this was disappointing. I loved the stories, research hurdles, and data of the first portion, but the rest went down in a mudslide. The amount of speculation was enormous especially in origin of Polynesians, movement of neo-paleolithic peoples, and dating of the clusters. What made it worse is that he later referred to these conclusions like 'clearly,' 'as we now know,' 'without a doubt,' without furthur support, data, research, or reasoning. These footings were shaky at best, if not biased. The seven fictionalized chapters on the 'Daughters' were a waste of paper. I was mildly affronted by the trite narratives and cultural inaccuracies they presented. Really? They all had to be troubled teenagers or Mary Sue's? I was planning to read the rest of Sykes' accounts but not so sure now.

Interesting science, which I don't totally understand but it goes something like this. Since we all have 50% DNA from father, 50% from mother, there's no way to trace back via DNA to see if somebody today is related to, say, DNA from a body found frozen in the ice of Italy from 20,000 years ago, since every generation back, our DNA would get more and more mixed and jumbled. BUT, there's a certain piece of DNA called Mitochondrial DNA that is passed on from the mother and never changes. Apparently, it's kind of a filler strand of DNA with not much of a specific purpose, but it's there nevertheless. Author of this book used Mitochondrial DNA to show that, for example, the people who live in the islands in the Pacific, like New Guinea, Polynesia, etc., came from Asia first, and migrated east. Or that there were two separate movements of people from Siberia into North America, at different times. Not earthshaking stuff, but interesting nevertheless. Then the book veers into the author creating imagined scenarios for 7 "Eves'' whose DNA can be traced to from 7 different groups of current humans, which the author calls clans. Here it gets a little less satisfying because he's making stuff up but overall a good read.

I found this book incredibly fascinating. Using DNA sequencing they have determined that all of the people in Europe are descended from seven women. These seven women developed a genetic mutation in their mitochondrial DNA that has been passed down to their children through the female line. They can even determine approximately where and when they lived.

The book does get a bit heavy in places as it goes through the DNA but it is told in a way that is not overbearing.

The book ends on a bit of a fictional narrative of what the woman's life would have been like living in that period.