Product Description

Studio: Pbs Release Date: 05/05/2009 Run time: 120 minutes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9699 in DVD
• Brand: PBS
• Released on: 2003-08-05
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 120 minutes

From the Back Cover
How did the human race populate the world? A group of geneticists have worked on the question for a decade, arriving at a startling conclusion: the "global family tree" can be traced to one African man who lived 60,000 years ago. Dr. Spencer Wells hosts this innovative series, featuring commentary by expert scientists, historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists.

Customer Reviews

Amazing story of our human history using DNA
I first saw this when it premiered on PBS while I was at the beginning of my world travels in January 2003. One of the reasons I quit my job to go traveling was to satisfy my desire to know the truth about religion and spirituality. I traveled throughout Asia (As far West as India & Nepal), Australia, South America, and parts of Arabia. Africa awaits.

The show on PBS couldn't have been more timely as I watched it in a hotel room while in Arizona. (Started with a cross country USA drive) I have read/studied & watched numerous videos and books on evolution, different religions, etc... at least from a scientific standpoint this video in one stroke puts MANY (Not all) of the claims of various religions / belief systems into the category of "Comfort stories." THAT IS - if you believe in the science.

I found quite interesting the reaction of some of the people when confronted with these new discoveries. Old habits/beliefs die hard as evidenced by world events today and in the past century of rapid scientific thought and change on our world. Granted, the host Spencer Wells could have presented some of his findings in a slightly more "soothing" manner to some of the target groups. But, he recognized this early on I think and modified his approach. His enthusiasm and confidence are infectious and make watching the video fun - even after I watched it again on DVD since I have returned from traveling.

This show is so compelling and complete in its coverage of how we/man evolved and traveled out of Africa. Dr. Wells travels to Namibia, Kazakhstan, Siberia, Arizona, Brazil, North Australia, and South India among other places. He incorporates interviews with other scientists to support his work - such as linguists. While I didn't use DNA analysis in my travels to answer my questions, my insights into human psychology and observation of behavior only complemented what is in the video.

This is one of those videos (BBC's Blue Planet is another one) that I place in a special category of videos that should be mass distributed for free to every household possible around the world.

I also *HIGHLY* recommend the Shape of Life 4-DVD set, the logical prequel to the Journey of Man. For a broader picture of how we fit in our world - I also *HIGHLY* recommend National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth 2-DVD set.

The Best Documentary Ever
One is rightfully suspicious of bromides about how we are all "one" and that we are all brothers and sisters. However, at least twice in my life I have witnessed something that justifies these notions: one, the picture of the earth from the Apollo spaceship and, two, the documentary "Journey of Man".

The film-maker probably did not intend to make a sociological/political statement but the film certainly destroys racialist arguments about essential differences between human races. We are all descendants of Africa and, it would seem, all distant cousins of one another, even if that fact, highlighted by this film, does not erase political, social and cultural differences. If everyone saw this film, perhaps (and only perhaps) there would be less endorsements of war. Maybe that's a bit too hipeful, since wars are almost always these days presented as humanitarian wars by those who benefit from them.

One must marvel at the courage of our ancestors to undertake the great trek out of Africa. It's easy to understand going to Australia, but why did some migrate to the coldest regions of Siberia? That's the question I have.

Incredible Journey
If you read -- and believe -- what "jrmcgrail" wrote about this video (below), you will lose a wonderful opportunity to go on one of the most incredible science-based journeys on the planet that clearly, succinctly and simply shows us the origin of the human race. This video is a must-have for anyone who has ever asked the question, "where did we come from." The joy, beyond the enlightening science facts, is taking the journey with Dr. Wells to the far reaches of the earth, to meet and talk with the human beings whose genes gave birth to ours; to every race on the planet. It's a great exploration into our origins, and shows us that we are all one big family after all. Kudos to Dr. Wells for getting this project completed and for this captivating and well-done story.