Bryan Sykes, the world¿s first genetic archaeologist, takes us on a
journey around the family tree of Britain and Ireland, to reveal
how our tribal history still colours the country today. In 54BC
Julius Caesar launched the first Roman invasion of Britain. His was
the first detailed account of the Celtic tribes that inhabited the
Isles. But where had they come from and how long had they been
there? When the Romans eventually left five hundred years later,
they were succeeded by invasions of Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and
Normans. Did these successive invasions obliterate the genetic
legacy of the Celts, or have very little effect? After two decades
tracing the genetic origins of peoples from all over the world,
Bryan Sykes has now turned the spotlight on his own back yard. In a
major research programme, the first of its kind, he set out to test
the DNA of over 10,000 volunteers from across Britain and Ireland
with the specific aim of answering this very question: what is our
modern genetic make-up and what does it tell us of our tribal past?
Are the modern people of the Isles a delicious genetic cocktail? Or
did the invaders keep mostly to themselves forming separate genetic
layers within the Isles? As his findings came in, Bryan Sykes
discovered that the genetic evidence revealed often very different
stories to the conventional accounts coming from history and
archaeology. Blood of the Isles reveals the nature of our genetic
make-up as never before and what this says about our attitudes to
ourselves, each other, and to our past. It is a gripping story that
will fascinate and surprise with its conclusions.
The science is explained with an infectious zest. His book is so revealing that the new... as well as the old should read it -- Boyd Tonkin Independent Syke's scientific presentation is chatty and readable The Sunday Times Professor Sykes has an admirably free and easy style for an academic Daily Mail A fascinating overview of genealogical patterns and tribal heritage... [with] a stong narrative drive, pushed on by Sykes's energetic search for answers Telegraph Review Fascinating reading. This book has all the tension of a good detective story but is actually science at its most accessible Sunday Express
