If you know a lot about the human story, you'll be spellbound. If you know little about the human story, you will be spellbound. What's more important, he consistently gets it right - Richard Dawkins A brilliant, authoritative, surprising, captivating introduction to human genetics. Adam Rutherford's soaring book is an exposition of what this new science really tells us about who we are - Tom Whipple * THE TIMES * Adam Rutherford's book is well-written, stimulating and entertaining. But unlike other accounts of human history it doesn't lie. DNA is fragile, confusing and contains a lot of pointless data. And, depending on the flakiness of your earwax, it is just conceivable that your relatives' unattractiveness to hairy and horned invaders was related to their body odour. On the other hand, they probably didn't have sex with Vikings, who, it turns out, did a fair bit more pillaging than raping. It is one of those rare books that you'll finish thinking you haven't wasted a single second - Brad Davies * INDEPENDENT * If you are ethnically British, one thing is certain: your ancestors definitely had sex with Neanderthals.

The writing is concise and often funny, and Rutherford never takes himself or his subject too seriously. Rutherford, a writer and geneticist, weaves from our genes a fascinating tapestry of human history from its most primitive origins to its sophisticated present, and beyond.

Wide-ranging, witty, full of surprises and studded with sparkling insights - Rutherford uncovers the epic history of the human species, written in DNA - Alice Roberts Magisterial, informative and delightful - Peter Frankopan One of the most extraordinary things about this book is its sheer breadth. From the Neanderthals to the Vikings, from the Queen of Sheba to Richard III, Rutherford goes in search of our ancestors, tracing the genetic clues deep into the past. And on the way, he reveals what DNA can - and can't - tell us about ourselves, our history and our deep evolutionary heritage. He does more than any author to cut through the confusion around genetics, and to reveal what modern genetics has to say about our identity, history and future - Ed Yong Rutherford takes off on an extraordinary adventure, following the wandering trail of DNA across the globe and back in time. With witty, authoritative and profound prose, Adam Rutherford tackles the biggest of issues - where we came from, and what makes us who we are. Genetics is opening up the past as never before - Adam Rutherford puts the genes in genealogy brilliantly - Matt Ridley A captivating delight.

Adam rutherford a brief history