Karin Bojs grew up in a small, broken family. At her mother's funeral she felt this more keenly than ever.
So as part of the healing process, she decided to use DNA research to learn more about herself, her family and the interconnectedness of society. After all, we're all related. And in a sense, we are all family.
My European Family tells the story of Europe and its people through its genetic legacy, weaving in the latest archaeological findings. Karin goes deep in search of her genealogy; by having her DNA sequenced and tested and effectively becoming an experimental subject, she was able to trace the path of her ancestors back, through the Viking age, through the Bronze age to the Neolithic and beyond into prehistory, back even further to a time when Neanderthals ran the European show.
This book looks at genetics from a uniquely pan-European perspective, with the author meeting dozens of geneticists, historians and archaeologists in the course of her research. The genes of this seemingly ordinary modern European woman have a truly fascinating story to tell.
By:
Karin Bojs
Translated by:
Fiona Graham
Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Export/Airside
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 135mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781472941466
ISBN 10: 1472941462
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 01 May 2017
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction: The Funeral PART 1: THE HUNTERS Chapter 1 : The Troll Child: 54,000 Years Ago Chapter 2 : Neanderthals in Leipzig Chapter 3 : The Flute Players Chapter 4 : First on the Scene in Europe Chapter 5 : Mammoths in Brno Chapter 6 : Cro-Magnon Chapter 7 : The First Dog Chapter 8 : Doggerland Chapter 9 : The Ice Age Ends Chapter 10 : Dark Skin, Blue Eyes Chapter 11 : Climate and Forests Chapter 12 : Am I a Sami? Chapter 13 : Pottery Makes its Appearance Chapter 14 : The Farmers Arrive PART 2: THE FARMERS Chapter 15 : Syria Chapter 16 : The Boat to Cyprus Chapter 17 : The First Beer Chapter 18 : The Farmers ' Westward Voyages Chapter 19 : The Homes Built on the Graves of the Dead Chapter 20 : Clashes in Pilsen and Mainz Chapter 21 : Sowing and Sunrise Chapter 22 : Farmers Arrive in Skane Chapter 23 : Otzi the Iceman Chapter 24 : The Falbygden Area Chapter 25 : Hunters' and Farmers' Genes PART 3: THE INDO-EUROPEANS Chapter 26 : The First Stallion Chapter 27 : DNA Sequences Provide Links with the East Chapter 28 : Battleaxes Chapter 29 : Bell Beakers, Celts and Stonehenge Chapter 30 : The Nebra Sky Disc in Halle Chapter 31 : The Rock Engravers Chapter 32 : Iron and the Plague Chapter 33 : Am I a Viking? Chapter 34 : The Mothers Chapter 35 : The Legacy of Hitler and Stalin The Tree and the Spring Questions and Answers about DNA References, Further Reading and Travel Tips Acknowledgements Index
Karin Bojs is an author and science journalist. She was head of the science desk at Dagens Nyheter, the leading daily newspaper in Sweden, for nearly two decades. Karin has an honorary doctorate from Stockholm University, and has received several awards, including the 2015 Swedish August Prize for My European Family. Karin lives in Stockholm on top of a hill with a view over Lake Malaren. She often leaves her apartment for her country house where she keeps honey bees, produces cider and maintains an orchid meadow. During the long, dark Scandinavian winter nights she enjoys dancing tango. @KarinBojs
Reviews for My European Family: The First 54,000 Years
Meticulous, up-to-date, and never tedious, [Bojs] draws from hundreds of scientific results to create a broad-brush picture of human evolution, showing us how DNA research is revolutionizing our knowledge of the past. * Wall Street Journal * An extraordinary book ... part travel narrative, part family history, part scientific study. * The Financial Times * A rich, detailed and beautifully-written answer to the question 'how did we get here?' My European Family is a vital and timely exploration of the genetic, social and cultural threads that connect and unite us. -- Kat Arney, science broadcaster and author of Herding Hemingway's Cats (2016)
