A really interesting books with many aspects and ways of looking at reproduction methods in many species, gender selection, the "war" between male and female DNA and an interesting fact-based speculation on what may lay ahead for human survival in terms of DNA. Sykes lays out the science of DNA investigation in an interesting and understandable way. He states what has been learned, what it means, what is still left unanswered. He then goes to investigate such things as families who have boy over...

In Adam’s Curse, Bryan Sykes zooms in on the battle of the sexes to a microscopic level: it all comes down to the Y-chromosome which is passed from father to son, and the mitochondrial DNA which we inherit exclusively from our mothers. The first half of the book is absolutely fascinating and I enjoyed reading about the likely origins and the evolutionary advantages of sexual reproduction, how certain species gave up on sex, as well as the reproduction methods of the blue-headed wrasse, the bdell...

I really enjoyed this. There is a number of times where it gets bogged down in the technical stuff, but overall I found it an easily accessible and fascinating read. Recommended reading even if you have the barest of interests in genetics and human genealogy.

Most of the book is a very interesting discussion of genetic research focusing on the male Y chromosome. In the later part of the book the author explores his controversial thesis that males are ultimately doomed because of the inability of the Y chromosome to repair itself through recombination. This may or may not be correct, but one gets the distinct impression that the author is hoping that it is true and that the far future will be a women only utopia, with female babies produced through eg...

The best explanation of cell replication and recombinant DNA that I have ever read. Also, a spectacular explanation of why there are two sexes. The only reason this is not a perfect book is because some of Sykes conclusions/predictions/extrapolations are silly. I will keep this as a permanent part of the Science section of my personal library.

I actually wrote a book report for this. Here's a summary of it with some of my ideas about it.Throughout the history of the world, every event has lead to the collective knowledge of humanity. Since the early tribes, knowledge has been regarded as something useful yet equally something to fear. For it is the fear of every person to discover things that will lead to leave that enclosed cave of thought. Everyone is feeling warm and cozy inside it and whatever the cost may be, they don’t want to c...

This book is a fantastic review of a huge amount of human genetic research of the past century since genetics was discovered and explored. This research is combined with historic knowledge of the world and the understanding of human migration and settling. This book is a wonderful education.The book also discusses the fact that unless some changes are made, the Y chromosome and also men will go extinct. One species of mammal has solved the problem through mutation. With human advancements in gen...

a very readable book by a geneticist; surprisingly he links his research on human's y-chromosome and what he thinks is its link to the sexual attraction of wealth, power and influence to the demise of goddess worship; it's a fascinating premise which ties in so perfectly with my world view and interest in the goddess; I suspect that this view would diminish him among his fellow scientists; I definitely want to read his first book now, The Seven Daughters of Eve

A discussion of the male Y-chromosome, its history, genetics and possible future.

I fall in love with this author immediately. Almost as excellent as Richard Dawkins, though probably not as productive. I bought the book 5 years ago in a HK bookmark. And I didn't feel intrigued enough to open it. Probably because of the bad design (almost no charts or pictures in the whole book, just paragraph after paragraph of long text. But don't get intimidated. Once I started it felt like reading an interesting thriller. The opening chapter about finding the common father of surname Kyres...

Sykes interweaves discoveries of his own DNA in with larger points about fertilization, asexual and sexual reproduction and the general health of humans. I think I knew already about the large numbers of animals that "decide" on the sex of their offspring by the temperatures of the eggs before they hatch. There is a definite climate change connection here and the end result can be predicted but is unknown. Sykes goes through how humans have long tried to decide themselves the gender of their bab...

This book talked clearly about the fever of Y chromosome and how it won against the X chromosome. The ancient battle between both chromosomes and how they even fight each other in the womb of the mother. How the fight can goes on after having a birth and how different cultures had to deal with the new babies. The age of Vikings and their insistent  urge of men to mate with as many women as they can and posibble. As their first born sons accumulated wealth enough to collect more women and the unf...

I have just begun this book, a recommendation from my sister, a biologist by profession and genetic researcher by inclination. I read The Seven Daughters of Eve and I think it helpful to have that in one's internal library prior to examining this thesis but the two can be read independently.He does worry about the future of the human race if only because of the problems faced by the Y chromosone but I have yet to reach the precise reasons. I have scanned the part where he tests with DNA many men...

I have a habit of borrowing books without reading what's inside the book, and I gotta stop it asap. I only read the first few chapters of the book, and I am very skeptical about where he got his data/evidence from (no source pages).... like where is the evidence that men are more terrible and evil than women? Where? I think I know a couple of evil masterminds that are female. And that moment I saw the "sex tips from fish" chapter on the table of contents.... I closed the book to prevent the spre...

This is the second Sykes book I've read, the first was Saxons, Vikings, and Celts. I enjoyed both thoroughly, but Saxons... a tad bit more.I was most interested in the Celtic genetic history that Saxons... was more tuned towards, but this book included some additional information on Somerled and foundational concepts that are useful in consuming the Saxons content (although not critical).Also covers Geghis Khan, Gay Gene, and Y-DNA and M-DNA genetic survival of the fittest concepts I thought wer...

I've read each of Bryan Sykes books as they've been published. He has an engaging way of writing that puts the reader in the front seat of the discussion at hand. Although the subject wasn't as fascinating as THE SEVEN DAUGHTERS OF EVE or SAXONS, VIKINGS AND CELTS, I enjoyed reading about the issues currently being studied in genetics and world genealogy.

I imagine some of the author's conclusions are considered dodgy or speculative by other geneticists, but you can't argue with his background and expertise. Another amazingly readable book based on genetic research -- fascinating to learn about the ins and outs of mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosomal oddities.

Excellent scientific research which nosedives into dystopic science fiction in the final chapter. Just rip that out when you first purchase the book and enjoy the rest of what may be the most fascinating genetic research of our time.

I liked it but not as much as Daughters of Eve. I'm well aware of decreasing sperm counts & increasing male infertility around the globe, but his info on y-chromosome decay was new. We have a long long way to go before we have to worry about the extinction of men.

Interesting take on the Y!Thank you Bryan, a good-read

One of the most interesting books I’ve read on genetics although it’s final conclusion is evidently flawed.

I have previously read Sykes other popular science book - THE SEVEN DAUGHTERS OF EVE - and liked it immensely. I find this work to be something of a disappointment, actually, when compared to the prior work. Sykes does present valuable and useful information in this book, and his style is still very good, although not up to SEVEN DAUGHTERS standards. My overwhelming sense was that SEVEN DAUGHTERS was much more grounded and scientific, whereas this book was much more speculative. By the time Syke...

Bryan Sykes is a scientist. Bryan Sykes is a very brilliant scientist. Bryan Sykes is worlds ahead of historians and sociologists. Bryan Sykes is, dare I say it, invincible. If you know anything by the end (or, even, the beginning) of Adam’s Curse, it will be this. Bryan Sykes himself never loses an opportunity to laud his own achievements. On his journey to find the origin of his own “Sykes Y-chromosome” (after, he assures us, he has mapped out the genetic history of all women on Earth, NBD), A...

There were a lot of interesting tidbits in this book, but I found Sykes' overall argument somewhat lacking. His thesis seemed to consist of two points: 1) our obsession with wealth and power (and the destruction of the Earth that has come from that) is attributable to the Y chromosome's desire to replicate itself, and its success in doing so through sexual selection, and 2) thankfully for us, the Y chromosome is particularly prone to mutation and has no natural means of fixing those mutations, s...

First thing first, I don't have a scientific background. I majored in human sciences (History and English Lit & Civilisation), and the only classes I've ever had about genetics were in my sophomore year in high school. Yet the subject holds quite some interest for me, and I was glad that I managed to understand pretty much what was written in this book. It wasn't that much of a given.I appreciated the picture Brian Sykes draws of species' reproduction—what happens with the 'cloning species' vs.

An incredibly interesting book on genetics! Sykes is an engaging writer and explains his ideas thoroughly, which is good as I didn't take any biological sciences during high school and only recently started looking into it. He doesn't really get onto the topic of men's inevitable extinction until the last couple of chapters, and everything before it, while very interesting, is basically a briefing on genetic history and his journey on developing this thesis statement. From what I can tell, he ha...

Since a good part of what my company does is focused on genetic ancestry, I figured I ought to bone up on what the Y chromosome can tell us (and got the bonus of learning a bit more about mitochondrial DNA since he couldn't help but slip that in as well). While he did tell a number of interesting stories about discoveries led to through the study of the Y chromosome, the book eventually devolves into Dr. Sykes's self-indulgent and hypothesizing, which he generally doesn't support with fact. I fi...

Pretty interesting stuff. In Sykes' view, the human male's chromosome has been the major factor in human evolution and cultural development. Not only determining gender, it acts through a feedback loop. More powerful, aggressive males tend to reinforce their role in selecting mates and propagating traits in offspring. Today the planet is carpeted with humanity, the result of a society dominated by the Y-chromosome. When hunter-gatherer societies took up agriculture, it "chained women" to "serial...

Very interesting indeed. I'm just not completely satisfied with Sykes' explanation of just how, mechanically, genes are really the driving, almost willful force behind natural selection. So the force of the Y-chromosome, not will as a neurological process, was what led the Vikings and Genghis Khan to conquer, dominate, acquire wealth, subjugate & impregnate the village women? The more I think about it, I can guess he's saying that the genes that make the body produce testosterone in a given quan...

Sykes, a geneticist at Oxford who studies DNA to help explain human history, explored mDNA and the origins of women in The Seven Daughters of Eve. Here, he turns to their stronger or weaker half, depending on who's talking. He draws from different scientific fields to map out the battle between the sexes at its tiniest level. Some parts are riveting, other parts are too speculative: is homosexuality really a subversive matriarchal tactic? Overall, Sykes fascinates with asides that resemble those...