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Trace Your Roots with DNA: Use Your DNA to Complete Your Family Tree
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| List Price: | $16.95 |
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Product Description
According to American Demographics, 113 million Americans have begun to trace their roots, making genealogy the second most popular hobby in the country (after gardening). Enthusiasts clamor for new information from dozens of subscription-based websites, email newsletters, and magazines devoted to the subject. For these eager roots-seekers looking to take their searches to the next level, DNA testing is the answer.
After a brief introduction to genealogy and genetics fundamentals, the authors explain the types of available testing, what kind of information the tests can provide, how to interpret the results, and how the tests work (it doesn't involve digging up your dead relatives). It's in expensive, easy to do, and the results are accurate: It's as simple as swabbing the inside of your cheek and popping a sample in the mail.
Family lore has it that a branch of our family emigrated to Argentina and now I've found some people there with our name. Can testing tell us whether we're from the same family?
My mother was adopted and doesn't know her ethnicity. Are there any tests available to help her learn about her heritage? I just discovered someone else with my highly unusual surname. How can we find out if we have a common ancestor? These are just a few of the types of genealogical scenarios readers can pursue. The authors reveal exactly what is possible-and what is not possible-with genetic testing. They include case studies of both famous historial mysteries and examples of ordinary folks whose exploration of genetic genealogy has enabled them to trace their roots.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #188295 in Books
- Published on: 2004-10-27
- Released on: 2004-10-07
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 256 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Genetic typing is the newest tool for amateur genealogists, and it’s enthusiastically espoused by the experienced authors of this useful guidebook (Smolenyak is the lead researcher for PBS’s Ancestors and the author of In Search of Our Past Ancestors; Turner contributes to the GENEALOGY-DNA mailing list). How does it work? By tracing one’s "DNA heirlooms," the two forms of DNA that are passed on in a family from generation to generation. These "heirlooms" include genetic markers on the Y chromosome, passed on by fathers, and mitochondrial DNA, passed on by mothers. If it sounds hard to understand and do, the authors reassuringly offer clear explanations of the science and how to use it. DNA typing can tell you if you’re related to someone with the same surname, pinpoint a certain ancestor and verify your other research. But, as the authors warn, it could also prove your previous assumptions wrong or uncover unwanted information, such as that a family member was adopted. If you have been researching your family’s history and have unanswered questions, this enlightening book may offer some answers; at the very least, it will walk you through the benefits and drawbacks of DNA testing.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Megan Smolenyak has been an avid genealogist for more than three decades and is an expert at family history research. The lead researcher for the PBS Ancestors series, she is a contributing editor for Heritage Quest and the author of Honoring Our Ancestors, In Search of Our Ancestors, and They Came to America. She currently resides in Williamsburg, VA.
Ann Turner was hooked on genealogy when she learned that her parents' ancestors had arrived in the United States on the same ship yet went their separate ways until her parents met 300 years later. She works at home, writing computer software and composing messages for the popular Genealogy-DNA mailing list. She currently resides in Menlo Park, California.
Customer Reviews
Megan Smolenyak "Trace Your Roots with DNA" - reviewed
Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak - her real name - provides an excellent introduction of what DNA can and can not do in Genetic Genealogy.
Anyone starting their "Roots" research effort is advised to buy this book. It will help you save money by allowing DNA to focus on your line and not someone elses. Read the book for more details!
This is a "Must Have" addition to your DNA library...
As a DNA-surname research group administrator, I tend to buy every book, VHS, or DVD I can find regarding the use of DNA research in support of traditional genealogy.
Of the 12-15 books I have purchased so far, Megan Smolenyak's touchstone reference work continues to be the one I reach for when I have a question myself.
Easily read and understood, this book makes complex concepts readily accessible with clear illustrations, definitions, real-world examples, and authoritative references when needed. I am not naturally science-minded, but as a good researcher, I want to be able to use every tool in the box. This is my go-to book for that purpose.
Buy as many DNA books and tapes as you want, but your DNA library will not be complete without this classic introduction to the concepts involved in genetic genealogy.
I highly recommend it!
CHT in Virginia
Excellent contribution in a new subject of growing importance
Even a decade ago, "genetic genealogy" barely existed as an almost science-fictional idea. Now, it's one of the most debated topics in our field and thousands of family researchers are involved in projects to identify ancestors through DNA analysis. (I'm in two projects now, myself.) It's a rather complicated subject, though, and for those (like me) who barely scraped through high school biology, the more books for beginners, the better. Smolenyak is a well-known genealogist and lead researcher for the PBS Ancestors series and Turner has become one of the principal popularizers of genetic genealogy on the Internet. The important point is that both have been pursuing family research since the days of manual typewriters and paper library catalogs, and that's the perspective from which they approach the discussion. They explain very clearly why DNA analysis can tell you only who your ancestors *aren't*, not necessarily who they *are*, and the strategic differences between researching your father's and your mother's lineage. They lay out the options and limitations among uncovering ethnic origins (what about that Indian great-grandmother?), global origins (Eastern European? or Scandinavian?), "deep maternal" ancestry (the "daughters of Eve" thing), and even African tribal origins. How do you set up a family or surname research project, attract participants, ensure their trust, and analyze and publish the results? And what do all those numbers in the lab report mean? This is very much a practical book and I strongly recommend it, perhaps in conjunction with Thomas H. Shawker's _Unlocking Your Genetic Heritage_ (2004).
