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Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland | 
| Author: Bryan Sykes
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy New: $17.79
You Save: $9.16 (34%)
Rating:  57 reviews
Sales Rank: 186482
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0393062686
Dewey Decimal Number: 599.9350941
EAN: 9780393062687
Publication Date: December 11, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
WASPs finally get their due in this stimulating history by one of the world's leading geneticists.
Saxons, Vikings, and Celts is the most illuminating book yet to be written about the genetic history of Britain and Ireland. Through a systematic, ten-year DNA survey of more than 10,000 volunteers, Bryan Sykes has traced the true genetic makeup of British Islanders and their descendants. This historical travelogue and genetic tour of the fabled isles, which includes accounts of the Roman invasions and Norman conquests, takes readers from the Pontnewydd cave in North Wales, where a 300,000-year-old tooth was discovered, to the resting place of "The Red Lady" of Paviland, whose anatomically modern body was dyed with ochre by her grieving relatives nearly 29,000 years ago. A perfect work for anyone interested in the genealogy of England, Scotland, or Ireland, Saxons, Vikings, and Celts features a chapter specifically addressing the genetic makeup of those people in the United States who have descended from the British Isles.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 52 more reviews...
 History becomes part of you! November 23, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I do not often write book reviews, however this DNA genetic history of Britain and Ireland is so informative I decided to add my comments for what they may be worth, maybe not much but optimistically more valuable than a Lehman Brothers bond. I recently had my Y-chromosomes tested thru the Genographic Project by National Geographic. Knowing my Haplowgroup and now my Haplowtype makes this history of Britain and Ireland come to life. When you realize this is part of your personal history it becomes individual and relative. Sykes' book has Isles history and break thru information on Y-chromosome DNA and defines the relationship. If you have any interest in genealogy and history and now how DNA has unlocked and redefined what we thought we knew, this is an essential book. I for myself value Bryan Sykes stile of writing and the background of how he accomplished this task. "Saxons, Vikings, and Celts" is most informative and pleasurable reading. Enjoy!
Brilliant narrative but confusing nonetheless. October 10, 2008
Well, this is certainly an interesting presentation of these DNA findings. I am persuaded that the DNA differences between the Scots, Welsh, Irish, and English are not significant, but I'm confused about most of the other issues he raises. For example, my surname would indicate Anglo-Norman ancestry yet my tests indicate what Sykes describes as Oisin(R1B). Okay. Yet, I look at maps of continental Europe and Scandinavia on other websites and see differing levels of R1B all over the place. I'm not sure that there's any way to sort out ethnic identity based on DNA. Not that it matters that much to me. His account of Irish mythology is worth the price of the book. I also think he should have matched up his "nicknames" to the conventional haplogroup identification.
 Very light on the science; disconnected from genetic geneaolgy October 9, 2008
After having paid for genealogical DNA testing for both myself (both Y and Mt) and my wife (Mt only, obviously), having received the results, and having developed some understanding of them, I looked forward to this book, since our ancestors are thought to have come from the British Isles.
Unfortunately, the author is completely caught up in his proprietary fanciful naming structure for haplogroups -- the "Seven Daughters of Eve" stuff.
He completely ignores all the other research being done in genetic genealogy -- and the hundreds of thousands of people who have had their DNA scientifically tested -- to the extent that he does not even offer a translation table (which could have easily been done in appendix) from his fanciful names to the scientific names of the haplogroups. In this sense this book will confuse more than it enlightens.
At several points in the book he announces that he will spare us all the science -- at at least one point I had the feeling that he was saying "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" and that I was in some sort of Oz. I'm sorry, but I didn't want to be spared the science, and I've worked hard enough understanding genetic genealogy that it's a little insulting to be "spared the science".
If you want to kill some time, and you've read all the Tolkien and Harry Potter books, this is an easy read. You'll even get a little travelogue, and some pre-history of the British Isles thrown in. Any preconceived notions you have about your British Isles roots can survive unquestioned.
However, if you're interested in really finding out where your own genetic genealogy fits in the British Isles, you'll be alternately bored and frustrated. Mostly frustrated.
 History Buff October 6, 2008
I am only now starting to enjoy this book. The author needs a good editor. He apparently is quite a scientist, and quite a scholar, but at least for me it take a lot of reading to get at the facts. Skip to the chapters on the DNA evidence, and then come back to his description of the history.
A Very Good Read August 16, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is the book I've been looking for! I found Bryan Sykes to be a thoroughly engrossing author and storyteller as well as an accomplished scientist.
His overview of British history (as well as the occasional personal anecdote) coupled with the story of collecting samples in the various regions of the Isles is entertaining and sheds much light on who we are as a people. I came away with a feeling of connectedness to all around me and a burning desire to know my own ancient ancestry.
I loved not only the succinct stories of conquest and migration but also the simple explanations of current genetic anthropology. I was sorry to see this book end and look forward to reading his other books as soon as possible.
Perhaps the funny thing about all this is that I am not a scientifically minded person at all. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history or with a family that hails from the Isles. Or, to anyone with a desire to know how we are all connected biologically.
Perhaps the most intriguing 'side benefit' of this book is a feeling that most of the conflict among peoples today could be seen in a different light when we finally come to understand that on the level of DNA we are all so remarkably the same.
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