Who We Are and How We Got Here

By: David Reich

Narrated by: John Lescault

Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

A groundbreaking book about how ancient DNA has profoundly changed our understanding of human history

Geneticists like David Reich have made astounding advances in the field of genomics, which is proving to be as important as archaeology, linguistics, and written records as a means to understand our ancestry. 

In Who We Are and How We Got Here, Reich allows listeners to discover how the human genome provides not only all the information a human embryo needs to develop but also the hidden story of our species. Reich delves into how the genomic revolution is transforming our understanding of modern humans and how DNA studies reveal deep inequalities among different populations, between the sexes, and among individuals. Provocatively, Reich's book suggests that there might very well be biological differences among human populations but that these differences are unlikely to conform to common stereotypes.

Drawing upon revolutionary findings and unparalleled scientific studies, Who We Are and How We Got Here is a captivating glimpse into humankind - where we came from and what that says about our lives today.

A New York Times best-seller in Science Books. A #1 Amazon.com bestseller in the Biochemistry List.

©2018 David Reich (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great Book, No Maps Available thru Audible

I loved this book. Just what I’m interested in. I did return the Audible version because Audible does not provide access to the illustrations and maps in the book. The maps especially are important for tracing human migrations.

Great information in a very academic format.

Information is great in this book. Really makes you feel like we are about to explode into an entirely new world of understanding about our past and human genetic differences and similarities. Makes the world seem more interesting instead of everyone is the same narrative.
The issues with the book are the style and the audio presenter.
The book feels like an academic journal article. The info is great but sometimes I wish the author would have entered more of the academic info in footnotes instead of in long drawn out pages of how they did such and such etc.
The reader is also an issue. I really wasn’t sure at times if this book wasn’t read by some kind of computer program. Not easy to listen to an academic text book read by a computer. Otherwise a very good book on the new knowledge being discovered everyday.

Excellent book, awful reading

The book is one of the best I've listened to in a long time. Unfortunately, the reading, somehow computer-generated, is the worst I've come across. The story makes it worth to endure.

Great but the narration lacks

I think the narrator does very well considering what is asked, and the content is fascinating and convincing. But it is not easy to listen to.

I am comparing this to a few "Great Courses" audio courses where the professors are the ones narrating. The narration of the professors is much more interesting, not because they gave other information, but because you could hear them emphasizing what points were most important in any sentence or chapter. They were passionate about it and it made a lot of difference.

Great book, not the best narration

I enjoyed this book but the narrator was very monotone and halting. I decided to continue anyway since I found the content interesting.

Not What I Expected

First, this is a brilliant book, and I certainly recommend it! However, be warned that it gets pretty technical and (at least for me) difficult to follow at times. Also, I would argue that it doesn't quite address what one might expect from the title. It is a rather comprehensive survey of the state of the science of genetic history, giving a picture of relationships of archaic and ancient human populations and their likely distributions over time. How any of this relates to human nature (as I interpret the meaning of the "who were are" question) is impossible to tell without understanding of the nature of those populations or how such nature might propagate. But if you're at all interested in how sequencing DNA of current and ancient humans has shed light on the migrations and interbreeding of human populations, definitely read this! Although later in the book, the author speculates some on what certain traits might have a genetic basis and how we may discover it, this book's value does not lie in interpretations of genetic traits. It's beauty is in the unapologetic unveiling of what we know so far about our ancient ancestry.

Too much politics

Great information on the recent advancements in genetic analysis, but full of multiple chapters of apologizing for and justifying of the politically correct dogma of present day academia. Talk of nationalism, racism, sexism, and all manner of academic bigotry is peppered throughout the text. If you want to see how politics is corrupting science at the most basic level, listen to this book.

Fantastic book - terrible reader!

I've been fascinated by the whole concept of ancient DNA and what this tells us about humanity and the intertwined history of 'modern humans', Neanderthals, Denisovans, etc. for some time - and have been moving from audiobook to audiobook as each author points me to a new and even more fascinating aspect. I came to David Reich's contribution from Svante Paabo's amazing book on the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome and couldn't wait to hear the next stage of the sage, until...

... the reader! Honestly! This is one of that class of readers who puts completely random breaks in every sentence without any logic whatever! This is my pet hate and I actually returned the book to Audible because I was so frustrated and bought the e-book version from Amazon instead. But because I live in the country and do a lot of driving and listen to audiobooks in the car, I had to move on to something different - and that, in its own way, was so frustrating that I came back and bought the book again (something I've never done before).

So: the book is marvellous and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the whole ancient DNA / human paleontology subject. The reader is so truly awful that words cannot describe the depths of my distress in having to listen to him! I guess this goes to show just how good the book is.

Kicking Myself

I'm kicking myself for not writing a review of this book when it was fresh just after I finished it. This was SUCH A GOOD BOOK. This is the genetics/anthropology book I've wanted for some time now. It talks about all the most recent evidence (up to early 2018). Some people might find it too hard to keep up with the science but "I personally think" (famous last words) that most people will understand at least 90% of the science it talks about. What I liked too near the end of the book was the point he makes for studying 'racial genetics' not to encourage racism but as a means to break down racial stereotypes. He does so not from an emotional standpoint but from a scientific one using established science along racial stereotypes to discount them. If you want to know all the coolest new science in human anthropology and genetics along with where we need more study in the future then read this book!

Just because you CAN do something, should you?

After watching a Harvard provided YouTube featuring the author, I ordered this book eagerly. I have not finished the book yet, but I am outraged by the pridefulness and the myopia. Ironically, hubris and its demise in four ways was the formula used by Reich on his YouTube book promotion. Yes, he admits some theoretical errors along the way, but the flaws and issues around paleogenomics are bigger than whether or not there was two way traffic on the Bering Land Bridge of old.

Reich shows his personal ethnocentrism and narcissism in regards to feeling entitled to test the DNA of INDIVIDUALS who consent to research even if their group, such as the Navajo Nation, makes an otherwise total abstention from research. Individualism is a cultural construct, a very "American" value. Group opinions matter very much in this field where one or two samples can seemingly inform conclusions for the collective.

Informed consent is, by design, to "protect" the researcher and a sponsoring body; it is not designed and written by the studied peoples, past and present and future. Individuals can be coerced to agree to tissue harvesting because of intimidation, politeness, misunderstanding, ignorance, psychological issues, or so many more reasons. Groups can also be coerced. Outing the Navajo Nation as a dissenting group also is a psychologically affecting action.

Tissue harvesting is a terribly abused arena needing urgent and firm regulation. If a doctor cuts a mole off my body, some researcher, like Reich, can end up studying it without any knowledge on my part. It is a "legal" bit and piece. Informed consent for my tissue's fate is not required. Other people can buy and sell my mole piece however they want. I disagree with this tradition. People have a right to their bits and pieces. Who stands up for the people at rest in the earth, buried long ago, who have their cochleas turned to dust to satisfy paleogenomic researchers millenia after they died? Are researchers deaf to human rights? You profit from it, even if all you get is a pay check. Where is the informed consent for my bits and pieces? Lucy may not consent, too. Where's Lucy's consent? Kennewick Man? His consent? The Denisova girl? Her consent? Spirit, the numinous, culture, and respect for the past and the unknown are trashed by tissue harvesters and researchers like Reich. Modern ethics and human rights are further trashed by our "medical" system and researchers on blood, skin, moles, biopsies of all sorts, embryos, and tissues of all sorts.

Informed consent is a societal and contemporaneous construct. What if future researchers want to take a few genes from my mole and create a new cyborg or something we cannot imagine. Even informed consent has cultural and in situ limitations.

There is also the standard of practice I would hold Reich to consider. This is my own bias. The Golden Rule is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Totally egocentric. How about the Platinum Rule: "Do unto others as they want to have done to them." If you don't know someone's wishes, you may violate this by researching on them. Living or dead. If I choose cremation, I expect to be dust. If I choose to be scattered in the ocean, good luck finding my DNA. But, maybe some dude will come along and rebuild my DNA from ocean dust. If I choose burial, I wouldn't expect that some dude could come along and dig me up as a "find!" later on. Grave robbing. DNA robbing.

Reich leads us to the devil's research. Curious minds love to know, but do we have a right to know? Is the sex life of our leader or movie star our business or our right to know? We can spy on our rock and movie stars, but should we? Such information is typically marketable as are the fruits on Reich's tree.

Reich, you feed yourself and live your life on giving us the results of lots of DNA theft. You are a profiteer. You are stealing something that we only understand from a partial place. The DNA stretches you think are junk may well have more than you imagine. Soul dust is not of any concern to you.

Darn you, Reich, for the sexy findings you provide and promise. Yet, fraud, myopia, and human error must be expected! Reich, you drop to a county fair huckster when you say your research findings are fact. The manipulation of DNA segments happens; you boast that your team put bar codes on DNA segments to identify them and prevent errors. Even if it was purposeful, adding a bar code DNA segment to the Neanderthal DNA strand means that all DNA research can be tagged or altered. The tagging is so smart in one way, but the tagging also shows how vulnerable your present and future bedrock is to cleavage. What we do not know we do not know and can always affect outcomes and interpretations. Additionally, your "I am a fact based person" stance early in the book lulls the reader into trusting your opinions more than they should. And, yes, you have lots of opinions and statements that may not be anything more than skeletons wearing flesh from lab grown cattle muscle. Even if you can transplant DNA specific tissues onto the skeletons of the past, are you able to transplant the souls of those who left their skeletons in particular places? You cannot give your creations back the same tools, the same dialect, the same memories. Henrietta Lack's biopsies taken before her death cannot produce the lost mother, lost sister, lost wife.

Just as you choose to not practice Anthropology without a license by playing with the species and subspecies categories, you should not make conclusions for the rest of us (living and dead) on ethics, culture or other fields. Where are we going? The title of the book says it all: you need a good hubris monitor. Can paleogenomic researchers make mistakes? Fall into greed? Be human?

The cultures that restrict access to their genomes should not be said to have been "missing out" on the revolution of genomic research. China and Japan are CONSERVATIVE about sharing genetic resources. You are too LIBERAL and are making assumptions that everyone wants to work for a naive view to help us find our common identity and to find the stories of forgotten peoples. The opportunities, dangers, pitfalls for DNA biowarfare, genocides, and more are not giving you pause. Might the Code Talkers of the Navajo from World War 2 be the Code Warfare survivors of World War 3?

Perhaps this was a poor vehicle for a very intelligent man to attempt to drive into every human culture and academic discipline a mix of his opinions and research. Just because you can research human genomic history, should you? Can you anticipate potential future uses and abuses? Reich, you are on a bullet train, not a bicycle. Don't derail, and be sure to let passengers off if they prefer to be on bicycles. Your hastiness in publication lowers what I thought would be a five star book. I am of a mixed and unsettled opinion about the thoughtfulness given to the research as a whole. I will finish your book and likely re-read it, but your lab and your approach are part of larger personal and societal problems.

Perhaps I am not fully clear and cognizant on all of the issues, and I do applaud some aspects, but these are my strong emotions and opinions that I felt compelled to express; I am an ethical contrarian efforting to not indulge in hedonistic knowledge feasts. It pains me terribly to be so brutal as so much of what you say is incredibly satisfying food.

We may never know the answer

I felt this was well written, referenced and presented. I listened mainly on my daily commute and at times longed to understand better as I was distracted by traffic. Consequently I couldn’t say how many out of Africa waves there were, if it was even stated, and what happened next. So the title question is still unanswered for me. Perhaps this helped me understand that if you want to know something you need to give it your undivided attention. I particularly liked the last part addressing the sensitivity of DNA testing and the taboo of race and religion. Ultimately we are all here because of the many different paths taken by others we do not know. We are all related and we need to get on better. There is no them and us, just us.

Understandable and accessible

I thought he covered the genetic angle very well. Definitely changed my perspective about what it means to be African, European, Indian or Native American. Highly recommended essential reading.

Dry and narrated like a robot

Unfortunately I’m giving up on this as not only is the material dry, which I would cope with, but the narration is so detached and robotic that I had to check it wasn’t narrated by an AI software. Will look up the book version so I can read it myself.

Fascinating subject. Terrible delivery.

I usually love books based on science and history. I thought this would be great. The narrators tones is so dreary I barely made it through the first chapter. Massive waste of a credit.

Not an easy listen.

The book started off really promisingly and I learned a few things about genomics. Around half way through, it became impenetrable with repeated mention of a hominid species I'd never heard of and it was difficult for me to keep track of what was going on. I'm sure that this title will be of great interest to people who know more about the subject than I do. The narrator's voice was very clear but the text was read in a really flat way, with no ups and downs or emphasis or attempt to make the content interesting. I've found this with other factual titles. The excitement of the subject area didn't come across. I hate giving negative reviews and I appreciate the effort that goes into making these audio books but I hope the feedback helps future titles.

Fascinating

Very solid position on human prehistory in light of modern genetics. Excessively anti racist at times but otherwise great.

Fascinating discoveries

Fascinating discoveries, got me even more interested in ancient DNA, but the structure/storytelling could be improved. The narrator did not help either

Good book

Book is great and informative but at least at one place author of this book fell to what you would call Alt-Crap. Whaaaaaaaa!!!!!!

Fascinating discoveries

A must read if you are interested in ancient history. This story is only starting to unfold so great time to be picking it t

Fascinating content, dull style, wooden narration

I found the content of this book fascinating and intriguing, and the overall tale it tells is marvellous. I couldn't help wondering how much (perfectly reasonable) conjecture is involved though, given the small number of samples we have from some populations.
It's not a well-written science book for the general reader, but rather more like a text book. And it's a bit repetitive at times.
For me, the narration was wooden and lifeless, and the pauses before many names and non-English words made me feel that more rehearsal and preparation was needed.