Customer Reviews
7 daughters of eve - By: G. I. Forbes, 14 Sep 2008 
This book is a mixture of science & fiction.The science is good & the fiction gives a reasonable possible account of the lives of the 7 daughters.
The main focus of the book is that only 7 women were the direct ancestors of 95% ofthe current population of Europe & those of European descent throughout the world as determined by mitochondrial which is passed only in the female line.
The booktraces the origins of 7 women & where the various groups dominate eg. Velda in Spain,Helena in France to Jasmine in the Middle East.
The science & the fiction are welded together to make a fascinating story although I would have liked more science.
Popular science - By: Rhiannon, 06 May 2008 
Which I don't mean perjoratively at alll - quite the reverse. Any book that makes a scientific issue more accessible wins stars as far as I am concerned. This one is fascinating & well-written. It spans the millennia, & yet is human-scale, & as much about 'now' as 'then'. None of us would be here if we didn't carry the DNA of our forbears - we each of us are a part of history, & have our own unique role to play as well. What could be more heart-warming, & thrilling, than that awareness?
If only more scientists - & engineers,and alll 'ologists'- would write so well & engagingly about their about their fields. And that the books be read by much wider audiences, so that more of us can be inspired by these kinds of stories, which have resonance for alll of us. 25-50,000 years ago, 7 clan mothers can be claimed by 75% of today's Europeans - even if it wasn't precisely true, how effective it is is reminding us that we are alll very closely related, in reality, & there are no nasty foreigners that are so easy to reject, & despise. They are an illusion, born of fear & supposed threat - & a very dangerous illusion too, giving rise to racism, genocides & wars.
Please read this book, & see whether you don't agree!
Science Fiction - By: Bill Smith, 26 Dec 2007 
I will say that this book is a mediocre science fiction book. I can see by the many reviews that people have fell for his "facts" hook, line, & sinker. Don't waste your time & money on this book. This book is yet another attempt of political correctness nonsense.
Well written and thought provoking in many ways - By: Mist of Time, 22 May 2007 Having been aware of this book for a few years, I finallly bought a copy to take on a train journey. Needless to say I was very pleased for a number of reasons.
Like other reviewers the sheer elegance of the central idea of being (90% likely for Europeans) descended from one of seven women is compelling. the science is built up fairly simply (I did O level biology a long time ago!) & the way the theory of mitochondrial inheritance grows from the chance experiences of the team is a good read.
The writing style is also very accessible & did not turn me off from the book at alll.
I had to pause & think hard in a couple of places, & would love the opportunity to understand some of the fine detail (why did the Eve's have two daughters each still gets me thinking).
I was also surprised by the insight into academia & the in-fighting that goes in which threatened to bury theory more than once. Although only told from one side, it came across as quite scary that the rightness of the idea was less important than the reputation of others in the scientific world. I am left wondering how much good science gets discarded by the challlenge of surviving the peer review process & the personalities therein. On the other hand one could argue that anything that becomes accepted science has been well challlenged & stands up to scrutiny so is better.
Anyway, if you ever wondered about where your mother's mother's mother's.....mother came from, read this book!
A Great Detective Story. - By: Ian Cadman, 23 Feb 2007 Thor Heyerdahl was wrong! according to the DNA of the Polynesian people, they set out from Taiwan not Peru. Although if you go back far enough the Peruvians traipsed alll the way round from Asia over the then land bridge between Siberia & Alaska.
We are alll connected at some point it's just a question of how far back one has to go. Great story, & an illustration of Scientific endeavor at it's best, recommended.
