Adam's Curse: A Future Without Men

by Bryan Sykes

Book Overview

Male reproductive fragility has been the subject of much highly publicized recent research. Is it possible, asked the New York Times , that men face extinction? Bryan Sykes examines the validity of these shocking reports, focusing on the defining characteristic of men: the Y chromosome in their DNA. Guiding his readers through chapters like The Blood of Vikings and Ribbons of Life, Sykes masterfully blends natural history with scientific fact, elucidating...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393058964
• ISBN13: 9780393058963
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.6" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Outstanding

Another outstanding book by Bryan Sykes. Written in the same conversational, easy to read style as his more famous 'Seven Daughters of Eve' but without the extraneous chapters that he had in that book. Excellent read overall.

A Fasinating Read

This was a fascinating book, really fascinating. And the audio book was even better (because it kills two birds with one stone: hearing a fabulous tale and getting from A to B without total boredom or road rage.) I recommend this book which concentrates on the male Y chromosome and it's companion, The Seven Daughters of Eve by the same author which traces mDNA or mitachondrial DNA that is passed only down through women.

Genetic Thriller

My training is in molecular biology and I am truly impressed with the ease with which Sykes mixes hard science with a lot of fun facts. He does an excellent job of gauging the amount of background he needs to give the layman to understand the story of sex and the y chormosome. He avoids jargon and does not take any knowledge for granted in his explanations of genetics and evolutionary biology. There is such a wealth of interesting, fascinating information. This is a great book to read if for no other reason than you will have loads of conversation topics to choose from. If you have a strong genetics background, a lot of the explanations will be review, but as an anthology of neat little bits of info, this book is great. Teasers... There is a species of bog worm that has super teenie tiny males that live INSIDE the female. Do different families have tendancies to have more boys or girls? And of course, what is the deal with the y chromosome? I cannot recommend this book enough!

Stories from Inside Our Bodies

Written by a prominent geneticist, Adam's Curse has two main themes: One is a fascinating story of using the Y chromosome to trace ancestry - The people of Iceland commonly believe themselves to be directly descended from the Vikings. True, but only from the men, the Icelandic women came from Scotland and Ireland. And there is a an equally fascinating story of tracing homosexuality, boy/girl ratios, etc. through history. The second message is about the Y chromosome - what in the human species determines gender. For a long time (centuries perhaps?) the Y chromosome has been decaying. It has lost many of its genes, and become much less healthy. If this continues, it will go away. And if it goes away, there will be no men. And of course, with no men, there are no women either. Delightful book.